Fifty Shades of Remus Lupin
by NeonDomino
Summary: A fifty chapter collection based on Remus Lupin and WolfStar. [Previous] Remus somehow finds himself on a quest to save a princess. Nothing goes as expected when he finds out the princess is male. [Latest] When the Prime Minister meets the alien visitors, he doesn't expect their leader to decide that marriage was a good way to unite their people.
1. Tutor Remus

Gringotts Prompt Bank: (1) Remus/Sirius; (2) Romantic Comedy; (3) Underwear; (4) Brightly; (5) Hopefully

Quidditch Pitch - Joyful

The OTP AU! Competition - 13. I have a crush on my younger sibling's tutor, but I don't know how to work myself into the scene without making everything incredibly awkward for me AU

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Because I just couldn't leave it at 50 shades of Sirius, I had to do a collection for Remus too!

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 **Fifty Shades of Remus Lupin**

 **Shade One: Tutor!Remus**

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Remus walked into the house after the younger boy, pulling the strap of his bag over his head. Regulus Black walked through the house to the living room and stopped by the sofa.

"We can sit here," Regulus offered. "This is where I usually do my school-work."

Remus nodded, taking a quick glance around the room. It looked uncomfortable - the type of room that was usually seen in houses where no children lived. Still, he took a seat on the floor next to the table. The sofa looked uncomfortable, but at least the rug was soft.

He watched the dark-haired boy take a seat on the other side.

"I have to warn you that my brother is visiting from boarding school, and he can be a bit disruptive."

"Why does he go to boarding school and you don't?" Remus asked.

"Because unlike little Reggie, my parents despise me and my existence," came a voice from behind him. Remus turned around, his eyes widening at the sight of a dark-haired boy, similar to Regulus.

Though this boy was in the tightest jeans Remus could imagine, an oversized, shabby leather jacket, and heavy looking boots. Eyeliner completed the look. The boy took in his gaze and smirked. "I'm Sirius," he offered brightly.

"Remus," Remus replied. "I'm here to tutor your brother."

"Fine. Don't do anything I wouldn't do baby-brother... though that list is rather short." He licked his lips before his gaze slowly moved up and down over Remus' body.

"Sirius, go away," Regulus whined, and Sirius frowned, but disappeared and Remus turned back to the table.

...oOo...

He was supposed to be helping Regulus with History - he had been assigned to help the younger boy through the tutoring programme in town, but it was impossible.

It all started with the sound of someone running down the stairs, and Sirius dropping into an armchair, his phone to his ear, as he had a very loud conversation with his friend until Regulus made him leave. Remus had learnt a lot in that conversation - mostly that Sirius was very very very gay, and very single (Sirius' own words).

Twenty minutes into talking about the second world war, and a paper airplane began to fly into the room, with Sirius fetching it every time, muttering apologies and throwing Remus a dirty smile each time. Regulus was looking more and more annoyed, finally ripping the paper airplane in half and throwing the crumpled up bits at Sirius.

Then there was Sirius' need for a drink, walking loudly through the room. Again for food and again for snacks.

An hour in, and there had only been about 30 minutes of studying. Right now was a study break, as Sirius was stomping up and down the stairs, claiming he was getting exercise.

Remus could barely concentrate on talking, over the noise... and if it wasn't the noise distracting him, it could have something to do with Sirius' model good looks that made his brain go fuzzy, or the heated looks Sirius kept throwing his way.

He gave up after Sirius walked into the room with a drink, and _'accidentally'_ spilled it on himself. "Crap," Sirius muttered, pulling off his t-shirt, and causing Remus' book to fall to the floor as his eyes moved over Sirius' chest. The trousers were next, and Remus couldn't even say a word about the underwear Sirius was wearing.

Not boxers, he was wearing some tight pants and Remus was oblivious to anything other than Sirius Black.

"I better wash these now before they stain," Sirius said, holding up the clothes and looking between his little brother who was banging his head against the table, and Remus was staring at him open-mouthed.

Remus didn't feel the need to tell him that the water from his glass wasn't going to stain his clothes, he just watched Sirius slowly leave the room.

"Wait," Regulus said, causing Sirius to turn around hopefully. "If Remus goes on a date with you, will you go away and let us study in peace?"

"Tell him he can pick me up here on Friday night," Sirius insisted, trying not to sound too joyful. He turned away again and walked out of the room, leaving Remus to wonder what had just happened.

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	2. Artist Remus

Written for:

 **Occasion a Day Challenge** \- 15TH : International Dot Day - Write about a creative character. Alt. Write about someone discovering a hidden talent.

 **OTP AU Challenge:** Love at first Sight

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 **Fifty Shades of Remus Lupin**

 **Shade Two: Artist!Remus**

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Remus carefully checked that he had everything he needed, as he waited outside of the classroom for the art-class to start. This was now his third lesson and he was quite excited.

He had only recently found out he had a talent for drawing, when he had been doodling during his part-time job in the library, and the manager had seen some of his drawing and was impressed. Remus himself had been impressed by being paid extra to design some flyers advertising the kids-corner that the library was organising.

He found that he had enjoyed drawing up the flyer, and had nervously enrolled in an art class that ran once a week after his usual classes.

The first week had been the worst, with Remus feeling like he didn't belong in the room. But some kind words from an overly-enthusiastic girl at the next easel eased his nerves somewhat. He hadn't done too badly at the bowl of fruit that was set out for them to draw.

The second week still held some nerves, but he returned to the same easel, letting Alice chat away, nodding ocassionally, whilst he focused on the display of musical instruments. He felt more confident as he drew the picture, peeking at the easels around him, curious to see how the others were doing.

At the end of the previous class, the teacher had informed them she would be getting a life-model in for the next lesson. Remus was excited, he had never tried to draw a person before - how hard could it be?

...oOo...

It wasn't long before the art teacher came into the room, looking slightly flustered. The older woman beamed around at the class. "I'm afraid that my usual life-model wasn't available," she began. "But I'm managed to find a replacement. Please try not to frighten him, this is my nephew, Sirius."

Remus quickly adjusted his easel before looking over towards the model. His amber eyes met with a pair of grey, and he found he couldn't breathe. He was in love. This man was breathtakingly beautiful and he was... stripping. Oh dear Lord, he was getting naked right before Remus' eyes.

"Sirius, you can leave your underwear on if you feel uncomfortable -" the teacher said.

"I've got underwear on," Sirius said, pointing to a pair of extremely tiny pants. "Now, where should I sit?"

"On the platform in the corner," Dorea replied. "Honey, have you been doing your own laundry again, I think you've shrunk your clothes. I did tell James to tell you to bring it all back home."

"I like them like this, they're really snug," Sirius replied, walking over to the platform, his eyes finding Remus' again. He winked, causing Remus to blush for getting caught staring at the underwear.

He was sure everyone else was - after all, they were pink and had little pawprints all over them. Remus wasn't even sure they were men's underwear.

He let his eyes linger on the easel for a moment, before bringing his attention to the platform again. As he was standing closest, his gaze caught Sirius' once more, and Sirius just watched him in amusement. Remus met his gaze, examining his face - it was safer than where his gaze wanted to slip after all.

He uncertainly raised a pencil and began drawing.

...oOo...

Remus wasn't even a quarter of the way through the picture when the time ran out. He had decided to focus on the top half of Sirius' body as the model lay across the platform in what Remus could only call, a provocative pose. It didn't help that his eyes were on Remus throughout the whole lesson, making Remus nervous and making his heart race.

Remus was just packing his stuff away, when he felt someone behind him. He didn't react, as it wasn't unusual for everyone to look at each other's work.

"I'd like to see the rest of this picture," someone murmured, hot breath caressing Remus' ear, making him jump. He almost knocked the easel over in his attempt to turn around. When he finally managed to fix the easel, he turned and found himself lost in grey eyes.

"Yeah... well, if you come back here, I can... I can finish it," Remus said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"That doesn't sound fair," Sirius said, shaking his head and sighing. "That means you get to see me naked twice, and I'd have seen you naked a total of no times."

"That doesn't sound fair at all," Remus whispered.

Sirius beamed at him. "So maybe we can rectify that after I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?"

Remus nodded his head, taking the slip of paper that Sirius had scribbled his number down on.

"You know, I draw too, maybe we could arrange for you to pose for me sometime?" Before Remus could even think about it, Sirius had left the room.

Remus carefully tucked the number away in his bag and finished tidying up. He would definitely call Sirius later.

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 **Review Please :)**

 **Thanks to Firefly for giving me the idea.**


	3. Oblivious Remus

Written for:

OTP Challenge - Mistaken Sexuality.

Ultimate Battle - price: 600 words, a fancy date

Bad Movie Tuesday - [object] Ring

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 **Oblivious!Remus**

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When Sirius had first asked Remus out to the cinema, Remus hadn't thought much about it, other than to make sure he hadn't already made plans for the day in question. After all, it wasn't the first time Sirius had invited him somewhere, making a habit of doing so every Friday night.

Well, Remus had pretended to think about whether he had plans. Not that he would admit it to anyone else, but he made sure to keep his Friday nights completely free, hoping that Sirius would keep inviting him to do things.

Though they had never gone out to the cinema together before. Usually they would just walk around, chatting about anything and everything. A few times, Sirius had brought Remus over to his friend James' house.

Remus recognised James from the kitchens at work, where he had gotten to know Sirius. He hadn't talked much with James in the past, but after a few visits, James began to warm up to him. It was nice, having another friend to chat to when he headed out of accounting and found James in the kitchen instead of Sirius.

Sirius had taken Remus to McDonald's a couple of times too, but never to the cinema. Remus couldn't help but get excited at the thought, especially when Sirius muttered something about getting something to eat after..

...oOo...

Remus buttoned up his thick coat as he stepped outside. Sirius usually waited for him, as he finished work a bit earlier on a Friday due to his warehouse shift at work.

He looked around, his gaze falling on Sirius' motorbike and he grinned at Sirius.

"You changed?"

"I had half an hour, so I swung by my place and put on something more comfortable for the evening. If you want, I can drop you home first, or would you like to get straight to the film?"

"I'm comfortable in this," Remus assured him.

"Right. Hop aboard."

Remus took the offered helmet and slipped it on his head, before climbing on the bike behind Sirius.

"You've got to hold a bit tighter than that," Sirius teased, grabbing Remus' hands and pulling them around him tighter. Remus held the tight grip as the bike started up, trying not to focus on the handsome man he was clinging to, or the contented sigh that escaped Sirius' lips.

...oOo...

Remus could barely keep his eyes on the Aliens film on the screen. Sirius' arm was draped over the back of his chair, which Remus had realised when he had leaned back. He couldn't bring himself to lean forward, so was confused as to why.

Remus was holding the popcorn in between them, and it seemed that every time he reached for popcorn, Sirius also did, letting their fingers brush together. Remus would peek at Sirius, seeing a wide smile on his lips as he turned to meet Remus' shy gaze.

As he reached into the empty tub, feeling around for any popcorn that has previously escaped his attention, he felt a warm hand gently touch his, before slowly closing around his, pulling his hand from the tub.

With a push of their joined hands, the tub was knocked to the floor, and Sirius had turned back to the film, his thumb stroking over the back of Remus' hand.

...oOo...

Remus couldn't help but feel a bit lost as they held hands throughout the rest of the film, but he hated when Sirius finally let go at the end, getting up from his seat and leading the way from the cinema.

"So… food?" Sirius asked, throwing an arm around Remus' shoulders like he usually did.

Remus nodded, blushing, though Sirius always put his arm around Remus, so he should have been used to it.

"That sounds good," Remus replied.

...oOo...

"Sirius... are you sure about eating here?" Remus asked, looking at the restaurant doubtfully. He could see just from the outside that it was expensive, and Sirius had insisted on the way over that he was going to be paying for dinner.

"I'm sure, like I said, dinner is on me," Sirius assured him. "Hold on."

Remus watched at Sirius opened his work-bag, and pulled out a little gift bag. "So… to celebrate today… I got you something," he said shyly. He pushed the bag towards Remus.

Remus reached out for it. "For Christmas?" he asked. "It's about three weeks early?"

Sirius shook his head. "No… it's been six months." He looked at Remus expectantly.

"Six months?" Remus asked, opening the bag and peeking inside. He smiled at the stuffed wolf.

"You know, since we started going out. It's our six month anniversary today."

Remus was speechless.

"It's okay that you didn't remember the date," Sirius assured him, reaching and taking his hand. "I don't mind."

"Six month anniversary?" Remus repeated, finding his voice.

Sirius patiently nodded.

"For what?"

"Our first date? Unless you don't count that walk down by the river as a date?" Sirius asked. "If not, then we did end up getting milkshakes the week after. That'd make next week our anniversary."

"Those were dates?" Remus blurted out.

Sirius let go of his hand. "They… they weren't?"

"I thought… weren't we just hanging out? Aren't you straight?"

Sirius stared at him for a long moment. "You… you're kidding, right? We go out every week and get food or hang out and you're always letting me put my arm around you. I… I… I've made a fool of myself, I thought we were… I mean, the whole building knows I'm gay."

"You're gay?" Remus repeated. "Oh, that explains why you were holding my hand."

"Look, I'll just take you home," Sirius murmured. "I'm sorry, I've clearly… I don't know what to say."

He turned to get on his bike, but Remus reached out and grabbed his arm. He couldn't let Sirius leave when he looked and sounded so completely heartbroken. Remus hated that he had caused that.

"I'm sorry," Remus began. "You've just never - until today that is - done anything that led me to believe that you were interested in me that way. You've never made a move."

"Why would I? I mean, I've been told about your sexuality," Sirius said.

"My… sexuality. You mean that I'm gay?"

"No, well, not just that. I mean about you being asexual. I've done the research and know that you may not want sex and stuff. I wasn't sure about kissing either, so thought I'd leave it until you were comfortable to make the first move."

"Wait - so if I told you I never wanted sex…"

"I'm cool with that," Sirius assured him, stepping closer again. "I'm able to deal with that away from you, so you don't need to worry, if that's the problem."

"Away from me?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not with someone else," Sirius quickly replied. "I meant... when I was alone, and in the shower and stuff..."

"Sirius… I'm not asexual," Remus assured him. "But it's sweet that you would give up sex for me." He glanced down at the bag with the stuffed toy. "I just don't know anything about dating. I mean… you've never tried to kiss me, and I never knew you were gay. I… I don't know much about dating, but I've fancied you for ages."

"You do?" Sirius asked, relieved. "Well… in that case, how about we go on an official date? Our first?"

"Our first official date to celebrate six months?" Remus said, smiling shyly. "I've never been in a relationship for six months before."

Sirius smiled widely. "And you're good with kissing?" he checked.

Remus shifted closer, his arms wrapping around Sirius. "I'm good with much more than kissing," he whispered, pressing his lips against Sirius'.

...oOo...

"So, can I ask why you thought I was asexual?" Remus asked, once their orders were placed.

"The girls in the office… some of them thought you were, but I got to know you and I really liked you and it occurred to me that if I was to date you, there would be a possibility that you wouldn't be interested in having sex. I realised that if that was the case, I'd still feel the same for you and was willing to wait until you were ready, even if you never were ready, I'd still be here. I've not regretted my choice once, though my wrist has been a bit sore."

He winked at Remus, causing Remus to blush. "I think it's because you didn't seem to ever date, or check out any of the girls or guys. I did try to ask, you said you were gay… but since you never tried to make a move, I assumed that the girls were right about you."

Remus smiled shyly. "So, what are you going to do now that you've found out that I'm not?"

Sirius grinned devilishly. "I'm going to do things that I've only imagined to you," he murmured. Remus opened his mouth to ask what they were, but their plates were placed on the table.

Remus felt a little bit out of place, as he looked around, but a hand reached out and covered his. "I'm glad that we're on a proper date now," Sirius whispered. "And that I finally get to take you somewhere that you deserve to go."

...oOo...

Remus grinned as Sirius pulled him tighter against him on the motorbike, before starting it up. It was a short journey to Remus' place, and Sirius got off the bike, walking him to the door.

"So… how was our first date?" Sirius asked.

"Brilliant," Remus murmured. "I've never been in a relationship this long… Coffee?" he blurted out.

"Coffee?"

"Yeah, would you… like some. Well, I don't have coffee. I have tea and hot-chocolate… or juice. Whatever you want."

Sirius' heated gaze moved down Remus' body. "Whatever I want?"

Remus nodded, quickly unlocking the door as a body pressed up against him, and lips ghosted over his neck.

"You know, I wouldn't usually do this on the first date," Remus said, as he shut the door behind him, allowing Sirius' hands to start pulling his clothes off.

"Do you want to stop?" Sirius offered, his fingers gently stroking against Remus' body.

"No. It's a good thing we've been dating for six months then, isn't it?" Remus murmured. "Now, my bedroom is at the end of the hall…."

"That's too far away," Sirius argued. "I'm sure the sofa is closer."

...oOo...

Sirius pressed Remus up against the wall, his lips eagerly meeting Remus'. Now that things were clearer between them and they were on the same page about what was happening and their relationship, Sirius knew he could touch Remus all he wanted. He knew he could invite Remus to stay the night with him and accept Remus' invitations to do the same.

He didn't have to be careful to give Remus his own space, too scared to even hold his hand just in case Remus had drawn a line there.

A cough caused the pair to break apart, and Remus reached up to tidy his hair, blushing as Alice watched them.

"Oh, don't mind me," she said, walking towards the kettle. "I do like a show."

"Sorry Alice, only one person is allowed to see the shows my Remus puts on," Sirius confirmed. "And that's me."

"I just came in because there's a call for him. Remus, can you call your mum back?"

Sirius stepped back, allowing Remus space to move away. "Have you told her about me yet?" he murmured. "Can't wait to meet her."

"I'll tell her," Remus said. "She'd be so angry if Christmas passed without her being able to buy you an inappropriate present."

Sirius nodded. "Our first Christmas together," he said. "Well, I better get back to work."

"Me too."

Sirius left the kitchen, walking the long way to the warehouse so he could walk Remus to his office door. He hated letting go of Remus' hand, but he'd see Remus after work.

It had been two weeks now, two weeks of Remus being very aware of their relationship and Sirius couldn't be happier. He had made the most of the change in Remus, seeing him as often as possible inside work and outside.

And then there was the case of the ring that had been burning a hole in his pocket for almost a month. The ring he had been considering presenting to Remus for Christmas.

He briefly wondered if less than a month was too soon to pop the question that had been on his mind since the first time he saw Remus… but then again, they had been together for over six months now.

...oOo...

Sirius sat in the kitchen nursing a hot cup of tea as he waited for James to join him. He had been working in the warehouse now for a year, and was thinking of a night out in the pub to celebrate.

He had already suggested it to the girls, who had agreed to go. There had been some awkwardness at the start, with unrequited crushes, but once they had realised that they had no chance with the extremely gay Sirius Black, they had backed off and accepted his friendship.

The door swung open and Sirius looked up, expecting to see James, but his eyes widened at the sight.

A guy looked around nervously, before smiling shyly at him. He walked over to the kettle, and after looking in the cupboards, found a cup and began to make himself a drink.

"Are you new?" Sirius asked.

The guy jumped, and turned around, as though he had forgotten that Sirius was there. "I am," he said. "It's my first day actually. I'm Remus Lupin."

"Sirius Black," Sirius replied, looking him over. "So… you local?"

"I just moved into the area," Remus replied.

"Well, you can't know many people. How about I show you around? We could… we could get a drink sometime? Hang out? We could do something together?"

"That sounds nice," Remus replied.

"How about this Friday after work?" Sirius suggested. "I'll show you around."

Remus nodded his head.

"It's a date," Sirius said, grinning at him.

"Great. Well, I've got to get back to work, lots to learn. I'll see you around, Sirius."

He took his drink, and with one last smile at Sirius, he turned to leave the room.

Sirius sighed happily. He had just scored a date with the gorgeous new guy in the accounts department. Things couldn't get any better.

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 **Thanks to Raybe for betaing. :)**

 **Review Please.**

 **2420 words**


	4. Witch Remus

**Written for:**

 **Ultimate Battle** \- Surprise Gift Bag!

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** \- History of Magic -  Time Period Task: Write a story that takes place during the Middle Ages and specifically involves how the witch hunts impacted the lives of magical, Muggle, or mixed individuals, families, and/or communities./Thematic Task:Write about someone perpetrating, witnessing, and/or experiencing persecution.

* * *

 **Fifty Shades of Remus Lupin**

 **Shade Four: Witch!Remus**

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Sirius stared at his mother in shock. "No," he whispered. "You didn't... you wouldn't."

The woman stared back coldly. "I have," she confirmed. "Do you not see, Sirius? You're pulling away from your family because of... him. He's not even a pureblood. He's not worthy of a Black."

Sirius took a few steps back, unable to believe what he had just heard. "I think that's up to me to decide," he stated, looking at his mother in utmost disgust. "You've sentenced him to death, Mother. He's going to die because of you. Don't think I'll take this lightly."

"You're a Black," she replied. "Us Black's don't take things lightly, so I wouldn't expect as much of you. You are my son after all, but I warn you: if you do anything to stop it, you'll be next. Consider this your warning."

"My warning is the death of my lover?" Sirius roared, wanting nothing more than to make good on the fiendfyre on his mother's house, but resisting as he remembered his younger brother, sleeping upstairs. "You may as well have me killed now, because without him, I have nothing."

"Do not be so dramatic," Walburga snapped. "You have your family, we are your blood. Our blood is pure, not like -"

"You talk about pure-blood, but to me, our blood is the one that is sullied," Sirius coldly informed his mother. "That's how this family is able to treat others this way. Blood is nothing, it means nothing to me."

"You would do well to remember that you are not our only son. You're future title as heir can be easily replaced," Walburga said to Sirius' retreating form.

...oOo...

Remus rested his head in his hands, and tried to control the panicked breathing as he sat in the tiny cell. There were four paces by four paces and he felt more confined here than he did in his cage during the full-moon.

He wasn't stupid, he knew what was happening. Walburga had caused a scene in the Town-square as he had walked with Sirius - though they had kept their distance, pretending their relationship was only that of friends, whilst in public.

The witch had screeched and screamed about Remus being a witch. How she had seen Remus and Sirius together. How Remus had seduced her son with black-magic and witchcraft, to do sinful things.

Remus couldn't help but smirk at the memory of those last words. Sinful things indeed. Sirius was the one who taught him every 'sinful' thing that Remus knew.

She had proclaimed that Sirius was to be wed to a woman, and how he would /never/ touch another man.

With the high-standing of the Black family, Remus had quickly been thrown in the prison. He would undergo the trials the next day.

Walburga had already visited him, not long after he had been locked away, stating that if he found a way out of it, Hope Lupin would be taking his place instead. She had the power to make it happen, and Remus didn't doubt her.

His mother was a muggle, there was no way he would ever allow harm to come to her. He would do this to protect his mother.

...oOo...

"Remus?" came a whisper on the other side of the bars.

"Sirius?" Remus replied, his heart pounding at the sound of Sirius' voice. He didn't blame Sirius in the slightest - it wasn't his fault that his family were cruel and insane. Sirius wasn't like them, though neither of them had expected Sirius' family to go this far.

"I'm so sorry," Sirius whispered. "I'll... I'll get you out. Stand back, I'll blast the -"

"No," Remus interrupted, standing on the hard bed, and trying to catch a glimpse of Sirius through the bars. They were too high, and he couldn't see him. "You can't."

There was a long silence and Remus heard the sound of scraping outside. He waited patiently until he heard a few muttered swear-words and Sirius suddenly appeared. "Why not?" he begged. "We can run away, deep into the Wizarding world where you'll be safe. Or another... James is in England, we can go there?"

Remus smiled sadly. "If we leave, I've been informed my mother will take my place here," he admitted.

Sirius was silent for a moment. He knew Remus would do anything to keep his mother safe. "If I can get your mother to safety... I'll come back for you." His fingers brushing against Remus'. "I love you, Moony."

"I love you too, Padfoot," Remus replied. He pulled his hand away. "Whatever happens tomorrow... you were worth it."

"Don't say it like this is goodbye!" Sirius replied, his voice breaking as though he was on the verge of tears. "We don't have to say goodbye for... for over a hundred years!"

Remus just smiled.

"I want to stay here all night with you, just to make sure you're okay, but I need to go and take your mother somewhere safe. You may not see me tomorrow, and it may feel hopeless, but I will be there. I promise."

...oOo...

Remus stood next to the water. If only he had his wand, he could have done something to help him survive, somehow.

Though that would mean Walburga Black would make his mother take his place.

He listened to the charges, finding cruel grey eyes in the crowd from the insane witch - he had considered accusing her, but he couldn't bring himself to do that to Sirius, plus, who would believe him? It would just sound like he was trying to pass the accusation back at the women who had turned him in!

He was bound, his heart pounding hard. He searched the crowd for Sirius, wanting one last look at his love, but couldn't see him.

...oOo...

Remus hit the water and went under immediately. He held his breath, but panicked as hands grabbed for him, and something was thrust into his mouth. He almost choked, but a hand covered his mouth, stopping him from trying to spit it out. He swallowed the thing down, before opening his eyes and meeting Sirius' grey eyes.

He stopped struggling. A second later, he felt his skin rip apart, but not in the painful way he was used to - rather in a relieving way that allowed him to breath. He looked more carefully at Sirius, noticing he had gills.

Gillyweed.

Sirius grabbed the rope that bound him and began to swim slowly, not wanting to cause a ripple in the water. They moved downstream, before he sped up, wanting to get as far as possible before the gillyweed wore off.

Finally they were in the river. Sirius swap as fast as possible, away from the town, and slowed, gasping. He pulled himself from the water, dragging Remus partially out, and quickly removed the bonds, before letting Remus drop back in.

He sat on the bank and waited for Remus' gillyweed to wear off too, taking the time to dry himself.

When Remus lifted himself out of the water, he took the offered wand.

"My mother -"

"Is safe," Sirius assured him. "She's miles away and under the Fidelius charm. My family won't be able to find her, even if they somehow managed to follow my trail. I found a small cottage for her, she's got some supplies and there's firewood. Enough to last us a week, I'd say. We're safe for now."

"The full moon, my cage -"

"I've shrunken it down for now," Sirius insisted. "We'll find somewhere for you to transform, don't you worry about that. We've got two and a half weeks. There's no need for us to return to that town, we're going to England - we're going to find James and he's going to give us shelter."

"You did all this for me?" Remus asked.

"Of course I did," Sirius said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I love you more than anything. I would do anything it takes to keep you safe, even if it meant taking your place at the trials. That was going to be my last resort."

"But your family -"

"You're my family, Remus," Sirius insisted. "Life without you isn't worth living. I need you, not them. Now, we need to get to the cottage. We need to get you somewhere safe."

"But my father -"

"Is looking for safe passage to England. My parents will be looking for us, they'll have the Ministry on side, but only this Ministry. Once we're in England, they can't get us."

Remus stared at him curiously. "You're giving up your whole life for me."

"You are my life," Sirius insisted. "Without you, I wouldn't have one. Your love is the only thing that has ever held any value to me."

* * *

 **Review Please :)**

 **1461 words**


	5. Chocolate Addict Remus

**Written for:**

 **Ultimate Battle** \- Surprise Gift Bag!

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** \- Charms - Write about someone who feels stuck figuratively or literally. Either he/she should search for a way out, or he/she must accept their circumstances. (Prompt) word: endure

* * *

 **Fifty Shades of Remus Lupin**

 **Shade Five: ChocolateAddict!Remus**

* * *

Remus hit the vending machine. He had put his last change in the machine for the last bar of chocolate, and the bar hadn't fallen out.

"Stupid... twisty thing," he muttered in annoyance, hitting the machine again. He needed the chocolate - it calmed him, de-stressed him.

It was 2am and he just wanted his chocolate. At that rate, he would give his comfortable pillow from his bed for the chocolate, but it was being stubborn and refusing to fall.

He hit the machine a third time, but nothing happened.

Remus checked his pockets, but only had sixteen pence left. He would have to go to the cash-point to have anything other money.

If it hadn't been 2am, Remus could have called someone to retrieve his chocolate. If it hadn't been 2am, Remus wouldn't have needed it so much.

So Remus did what any sleep deprived student who was in desperate need of some chocolate would do. He dropped down to his knees, and pushed his hand up inside the machine. His fingers reached the bar like he worked out they would, and he managed to retrieve the bar from the machine.

But as he tried to take his arm out, he found out he was stuck!

...oOo...

Remus dropped the chocolate bar to the side, and used his other hand to awkwardly reach inside and grab it. Setting it beside him, he slowly twisted, turning his arm at the same time.

He reasoned that if he was on his side, it may be easier to bring his arm down, and edge it out.

But it wasn't as easy as he pictured it.

After a while of trying, Remus sighed and used his other hand to reach for the chocolate. After holding the bar between his legs, he managed to get it open and broke a piece off.

He could endure having his arm stuck in a machine, as long as he had his chocolate.

"What's going on in here?" came an amused voice from the door.

Sirius looked up from his chocolate to see two men with dark hair, watching him.

"The machine got hungry," Remus replied, not in the mood for drunken Uni students bothering him.

"Looks like you're stuck," the one with glasses said. "How long you been there?"

"What's the time?" Remus asked.

Glasses guy looked at his watch. "Just after half-past two."

"Half an hour," Remus replied. "I'm not stealing, I put money in and this stupid machine taunted me with the chocolate, but it didn't give me it. I knew I could reach it, and I was right... but I didn't quite think about getting my arm out."

"I'll see if I can find help," he said, disappearing.

"You know, there's a trick to it," the other man said, and Remus looked at him. Amused grey eyes focused on him. "You should have stayed on your knees, and pulled your hand back towards your head slightly. Once you do that, you bring your arm around, and start pulling it thought at a slight angle."

"Why can't I do it from this angle?" Remus asked.

"Maybe I just want to see what you look like on your knees," Sirius said, winking at him.

Remus snorted, before shifting back onto his knees, his arm starting to hurt. "Like this?" he asked, doing as the man suggested.

"I'm Sirius by the way," Sirius offered.

"Remus. I'd shake your hand, but it's a bit of a difficult time for me."

"Needed the chocolate that bad, huh?" Sirius asked. "Couldn't you have waited until morning?"

"It's 2am," Remus replied. "And I can't let the machine steal my chocolate. It's not right! What if someone else came and bought it before I could get someone to open the machine and give it to me, that would be - my watch is stuck."

"What?"

"On one of the curly bits - my watch is stuck." Remus attempted to move his arm back, but was unable to untangle his watch.

"Budge up to the end, I'm an expert at this," Sirius said, kneeling down and pulling off his jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll untangle your watch for you, and show you how to get your arm out safely."

With that, Sirius edged his arm into the machine.

...oOo...

James walked back into the room, only to see Sirius kissing the stranger that had been stuck in the machine. For a second, he wanted to tell Sirius off for taking advantage when the guy was stuck, until he noticed that Sirius' arm was stuck in the machine.

"Sirius, what have I told you about putting your arm in the machine?" James asked.

Sirius used his free arm to wave James away, not once removing his lips from Remus'.

James sighed. He had spent an hour searching for someone to help a stranger (with no luck), and this was his repayment? Being waved out of the room.

Someone he had asked had told him that there was a phone number on the front of the machine, and if Sirius wanted him to leave, how was James supposed to get that number?

"Sirius, I just need one moment, the number is on -"

"James, get out," Sirius said, pulling away from the slightly dazed looking guy next to him. Sirius glared at him until James walked out.

If Sirius wasn't willing to listen... well, James' bed was calling him.

* * *

 **Review Please :)**

 **901 words**


	6. Hunter Remus

**Written for:**

Mystery challenge \- Remus Lupin as your main character in a story with your genres as supernatural or humour or both. - 700-5,000 words. (WORD USED - Chortle)

Cinema Competition II \- Hunger Games - Write about a partnership.

Bad Movie Tuesday \- The Avengers (1998) - [occupation] Doctor, [dialogue] "This is a bit much." _Steed,_ [dialogue] "Manners, [character name]." _Steed_

The Valentine Making Station \- Glitter: Write about a big mess that's difficult to clean up.

Ultimate Chocolate Frog Challenge \- (Silver): Blenheim Stalk - Challenge: Write a Muggle!AU, in which any wizard/witches are actually Muggles.

* * *

 **Hunter!Remus**

 **The Trickster**

* * *

Remus pushed the covers back and slipped out of the warm bed. An arm reached for him as he moved away, but Remus wanted to get an early start that morning. Sirius tended to take too long in the shower and use all the hot water, or would end up joining Remus and distracting him.

Remus was drying himself with a towel when a half-asleep Sirius Black stumbled into the bathroom, giving Remus a bleary-eyed look, before stepping into the shower. Remus grabbed a dry towel, setting it out for Sirius to use and headed to the small kitchen area to start on making breakfast.

They were on the move again that day. Regulus had called with a case for them. Strange incidents and supernatural activities happening in the area and Regulus was certain it was something that they would want to look at.

From the brief description, Remus and Sirius thought it could be another trickster. They had faced one before, briefly and knew what they were dealing with.

Remus sighed as he fried up some bacon from the fridge and poured some drinks. It wasn't long before Sirius joined him at the table and the two quickly and silently ate their breakfast, before packing their bags and heading out.

Regulus had asked for them to come as soon as possible.

...oOo...

The drive itself was short. Remus found he enjoyed travelling with Sirius. For those journeys, Sirius was carefree, singing to the radio, the window down and his hair blowing. He'd joke and laugh and smile.

And he was so different to the man who hunted at Remus' side. He was almost the boy that had spent the nights at Remus' house when he had run away from home; back before they even knew what a hunter was, or when the bumps in the night were just stories.

Back when they didn't know monsters existed.

...oOo...

They pulled up at the motel and Sirius headed inside, ready to charm the young woman behind the counter. The pair knew that the receptionist would be less careful about checking I.D. if Sirius flirted.

It wasn't long before they had the room closest to the fire-escape, ready for a quick getaway if needed, and they looked around yet another motel room with an uncomfortable bed, similar furniture and questionable sheets.

Remus moved closer to Sirius, until their bodies were touching, and took comfort in the familiarity of his best-friend and lover.

They could both handle the moving from place to place and the lack of a home, because they had each other at least.

...oOo...

Their previous job had been on turned out to be a job for the police. The witness statements were useless, and the pair had no reason to be at the scene, though they did help out - after all, who in their right mind would turn away from a case with missing children?

The children had been found safe and unharmed, thankfully.

Remus had been glad about the non-supernatural case. He was still suffering after the full-moon and Sirius was still blaming himself for the events from a year prior.

Remus didn't blame Sirius in the slightest. They hadn't been long in the Supernatural world at the time - only a year's experience, and had gone after a Werewolf without much prior knowledge on the beasts.

They were too eager to kill the monster - though another hunter had informed them that they had stumbled onto a known Werewolf who had managed to get away from other hunters. They were told to hang back and allow the others to take the wolf out, but they had been over-confident, thinking they could take the beast out.

Greyback had gotten the jump on them and Remus' upper leg still bore the mark. They hadn't told anyone at all about the attack, pretending that they had stepped back as asked.

Sirius blamed himself for not looking after Remus properly. Remus blamed himself for not being quick enough.

...oOo...

Regulus pulled the pair into an empty room at the hospital, taking a seat in the chair and taking a deep breath.

"It's been weird," he began, in way of greeting.

"Weird how?" Remus asked.

"Your kind of weird," Regulus replied. "A couple of accidents… it just sounds like pranks gone wrong, but on this massive scale. Almost deadly pranks. A guy I saw just before I called you… he..."

"He what?" Sirius pushed.

"He was pregnant," Regulus blurted out. "There's no way he could be, but he was. I sent him for an ultrasound and… called you."

Sirius nodded his head. "Great. Now, can you give us a list of all of the victims, their injuries, and anything else you think might help?"

Regulus produced a list from his pocket. "Names, addresses and accidents," he said. "If you need me, you have my number." He hesitated for a moment, his eyes flicking to his brother for a second, before focusing on Remus. "Do you still need some Wolfsbane?"

Remus nodded. "Did you make the potion up?" he asked eagerly, ignoring Sirius tense up beside him.

"Every month," Regulus said. "It's brewing, will be ready in three days and it'll last three months. I'll have another batch brewing then."

"Thanks Regulus," Remus said softly. "I appreciate it."

"Yeah, well you'd do the same if things were reversed."

Sirius sighed as Regulus left the room. "Should I tell -"

"He's going to do magic whether you like it or not," Remus pointed out softly. "There's no point straining things between you even more than they are now. At least he's not hurting anybody."

"But what if he does? He might not realise what he's doing, but -"

"I'm more likely to hurt someone than your brother is," Remus murmured, effectively shutting Sirius up.

...oOo...

The pair began to work through the list, meeting the first man in the string of strange occurrences.

The man was adamant that his wife had been turned into a goat. Remus had to take the lead on the case whilst Sirius headed outside to take an important call.

(Or to laugh about the situation in the car more likely).

Remus jotted down in his notebook the man's story. How the man had gone to sleep with his wife next to him in the bed, and woke up to find the goat in the bed, wearing his wife's nightgown. Remus managed to keep a straight face throughout, promising the man he would look into it.

When he got back into the car, Sirius was still laughing.

"It's a trickster," Remus confirmed. "I found sweet wrappers next to the drainpipe at the side of the house."

The smile faded. "I was hoping it would be something - anything - else," he muttered. "The first trickster was hard enough, but at least we know what we're facing!"

...oOo...

Remus stared at the motel-bed. Where Sirius had been through the night, now lay a large black dog, as big as a wolf.

The same dog that had kicked Remus out of bed and onto the floor, causing Remus to hit the ground and wake up with a pain in his shoulder where it had clipped the side of the bed.

The dog stared back.

"Sirius?"

The dog barked, as though confirming Remus' question and Remus quickly got up from the floor, dusting himself down. He stared at the dog, trying to work out if the creature was Sirius, or just a random dog that got in.

Though Sirius never got out of bed first. He usually liked to cuddle Remus and fall back asleep, so it was quite likely that this dog was his boyfriend.

Well, at least Sirius wasn't a goat!

"Sirius… what happened?"

The dog barked once more, before lowering its head and letting out a sad whine. His eyes fixed on Remus, widening and giving Remus the saddest look Remus had ever seen from an animal.

Yup. Definitely Sirius.

"Sirius, we need to find this trickster," Remus decided, frowning. He headed to Sirius' bag, grabbing some clothes from it, and gestured to the dog. "How is your smell?"

The dog looked offended at the words.

"I don't mean that you smell bad," Remus quickly stated. "I meant your sense of smell. Do you have good sense of smell like a dog, or do you still have the human senses?"

The bark didn't give Remus any indication of what the answer was.

"Bark once for yes and twice for no."

Remus smiled at the single bark.

"This is a bit much," Remus muttered, shaking his head. "Now, the trickster had to be close by to cast this spell, and we know that all tricksters have a sweet-tooth. Can you find the smell of something sweet? Can you follow the smell?"

Sirius let out a while, lifting his head into the air and looking around. After a long moment, he began to sniff, searching for a scent.

Finding nothing inside, they headed out of the motel-room and began searching.

...oOo...

It took a while for Sirius to get used to new scents and tracking, but once he had gotten over the overwhelming scents and the new experience, he was quick to find the scent of the trickster. Sirius led them to an old, overgrown sports-field, where a man was lazing in the broken down old stands.

"You?!" Remus exclaimed upon seeing the trickster. "We killed you!"

"Tricked you, didn't I?" the man stated with a grin. "The new form… suits you, buddy."

Remus silently reached into his jacket, pulling out a blood-stained stake. "I don't know why this didn't kill you last time, but you won't be so lucky this time around," he stated.

James eyed the wood. " _"_ Put that thing down before you hurt yourself. Wait. Where'd you get the blood? I didn't leave any dead bodies, and I'm sure no-one would just hand it over."

"Pregnant people tend to go to hospitals for blood tests," Remus pointed out. "It wasn't that hard to go and pick some up. We have a contact there."

"Regulus? He gave you the blood? He… no."

Remus lowered the stake at the sight of James' distress. "What did you expect? Playing cruel pranks on people. Turn the back, trickster."

"No." James shook his head, hazel eyes narrowed slightly. "Not until you meet my demands."

"Demands? What are your demands?"

"I want Regulus," James stated. "I want him to go out with me."

"You… what?" Remus asked as Sirius let out a growl.

"Well, these pranks have gained his attention as planned, but you've butted in before I could ask him out and ruined weeks of planning. So now, you have to be the ones to get me a date, since you've ruined my chances." James folded his arms, glaring at Remus.

"You're insane," Remus muttered, shaking his head.

"Manners, Remus!"

"Do you really think I'm going to even begin to negotiate on this? You need to decide - fix your mess, or die again."

"That's bollocks," James stated. "Speaking of bollocks… how are you finding being a dog?" he asked Sirius. "Now you don't have to wait for Remus - you can lick your own bollocks."

Remus' jaw dropped.

"Just because he looks like a dog, it doesn't mean he acts like one. Sirius would never…." Remus glanced at Sirius, who just looked back guiltily. "Sirius!"

The dog let out a whine and puppy-dog eyes fixed on Remus.

"Just you wait until he starts humping your leg."

Sirius moved forward at the words, but Remus stopped him with a stern look. He turned back to James. "You do know that it's Sirius' brother that you're asking for a date, right?"

"Regulus is Sirius'... oh. Oh! That makes sense." James grinned as he flicked his wrist.

"You're mad," Sirius said after the quick transformation back into a human. He didn't sound as angry as Remus had expected him to be. "Pranking people just to get Regulus' attention. I thought tricksters were supposed to be smart?" His gaze narrowed. "But we've killed you before, yet you're still alive. You're not an ordinary trickster?"

"I never claimed to be one at all," James stated, shrugging. "But if the boot fits… now, I've turned him back. Would it freak you out if I started dating your brother?"

Remus leaned in to Sirius, without taking his eyes off James. "We don't know what he is or how to kill him."

"We can't just leave him to terrorise my brother," Sirius hissed. "What if he hurts him?"

"I won't," James said, standing right next to them and causing both men to jump. "I'm not some evil being, no matter how you perceive me." Lightning flickered and shadows of wings appeared for a moment. "I can be good!"

Remus sighed. "He's an angel. Maybe if we get our own Angel, Frank, he can tell us if James is a trust-worthy angel, and then go from there?"

...oOo...

"Here's the deal," Sirius began, once Frank had left. "We're not going to introduce you to Regulus or set you both up, but we will tell you how to get - and keep - his attention."

James' eyes lit up. "How?"

"First, you have to fix everything you've done. Make everyone back to how they were."

James nodded. "Uh… the pregnant man? He really is pregnant, I just stuck one of his wife's eggs in, and… do you just want me to delete a baby?"

"No, leave him as an exception. It's a… safe pregnancy?"

James nodded. "Once the baby is born, everything will go back to normal," he confirmed.

"Right. Pregnant man aside, everything needs to go back to normal. The man whose wife is a goat, the people in hospital due to over-enthusiastic pranks - all of the rest."

"Sure." James flicked his wrist again. "Though the man with a goat isn't on me. Between us, I think old Abe is a bit confused."

"This is your one warning," Remus stated. "We will be back with the angel blade if we hear that you've hurt someone or played any pranks."

"Fine, fine. Now… Regulus?"

"Get a job at the hospital and heal people. If Frank can heal, then you certainly can. If you make people better, Regulus would be impressed. He works hard there to save lives. Use your powers for good."

James nodded his head. "So… we cool?"

"Not even close," Sirius muttered, not liking the plan too much.

"Good enough for me," James grinned. "Now, wish me luck!" He quickly shook Remus' hand, before disappearing.

...oOo...

"I told you, it's gone!" Remus touched the spot on his leg that held the bite.

"What happened? How?" Sirius demanded. "Is the bite healed, or… I mean, there's no cure for lycanthropy, right?"

"It was cured by an angel," Frank said. "I can feel his grace on you."

"But… I thought you said that angels couldn't cure lycanthropy," Sirius asked, turning around to glare at their angel-friend. "You said -"

"James is no ordinary angel. He's an archangel," Frank informed them.

"An arch… why didn't you tell us this when you met him earlier?" Sirius said.

Frank smiled. "You asked if he was an angel we could trust. You didn't ask for specific details as to what sort of angel, or what power he held. I told you we could trust him and clearly he's healed Remus as a good-will gesture."

"I'm cured?" Remus repeated, eyes wide, and Frank nodded his head.

Remus let out a chortle, grabbing Sirius and pulling him into a hug. "We should celebrate before we go on our next hunt."

Sirius turned to Frank and winked. "Frank, mate… trust me, you don't want to be in here right now."

"And what should we do about all the mess that James has left behind?"

"Not our problem," Sirius muttered, holding Remus tightly. "We did what we needed. Let someone else tidy up for once."

* * *

 **Review Please :)**

 **Thanks to Raybe and Firefly for the help**

* * *

Prompts used from Gringotts Prompt Bank:

Family/Friends Vocab prompts - Brother, Boyfriend, Buddy, Mate, Wife, Home, Best-Friend, Lover

Celestial, Weather and Nautical Prompts - Full Moon

The Vampire Diary Quotes - "Would it freak you out if I started dating your brother?" _\- Bonnie Bennett_

Once Upon a Time Quotes _\- "_ Put that thing down before you hurt yourself." - Regina

Descriptors - Demanded, Asked, Stated, Replied, Exclaimed

Prepositions- About, After, Around, Aside, Before, Behind, Beside, Between, But, By, Down, Except, Inside, Outside, Throughout, Without

AU - Supernatural AU

Various Prompts: Genre Specific - Words: Blood, Pain, Boyfriend

Muggle Occupation - Doctor

Charmed - (Location) Hospital, (Word) Angel, (Animal) Dog

Secret Diary of a Call Girl - (word) Angel,


	7. Prince Remus

**Written for:**

Hannah for the Monthly Exchange

Prompts: Sirius/Remus, Angst (it's there, somewhere...), Fluff, Romance, Muggle!AU, (word) anticipate, (word) stolen

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.** Fairytales. Task: It takes some time and playing around until the princess and her king find each other. Write about how much it took your choosen pairing to finally get together! It should be obvious that it was a hard way. Based on: All-Kinds-Of-Fur (Allerleirauh)

* * *

 **Not Too Soon**

 **Sirius/Remus**

 **PrinceRemus!AU**

* * *

Normally, Remus was used to his guardian, Fenrir, ordering him around. Yes, he was Prince Remus of Ravenclaw, but he was still only sixteen years old. He wouldn't be old enough to rule for another year, and Greyback made it clear that he was not ready to take over the Kingdom.

And as the King's right hand man (up until Lyall and Hope's sudden deaths), Remus trusted his word. He knew that he'd keep Greyback on to help him run the kingdom, as he had been doing for the past few years. After all, Fenrir was now second in line to the throne - he had been taught to be ready to help run the Kingdom.

But for a while now, he had been ordering Remus around a lot. Etiquette lessons, extra reading lessons and the likes. Not that Remus had a problem with the reading lessons, because he loved to read. It was just that he wasn't learning anything from them. He could read better than anyone in the castle, even the ones teaching him.

It was tiring and boring, but he did as required, assuming that Fenrir knew what he was talking about.

It was not long after his sixteenth birthday, that Greyback requested dinner with Remus. As the man running the Kingdom (and doing an excellent job of it), Remus could hardly refuse. He allowed Greyback to take dinner in the small dining room with him, watching as the servants brought out the plates of food, placing them on the table.

Fenrir didn't say much at the start of the meal, and Remus began to eat, suspecting that whatever was on the Advisor's mind would come after dinner. He felt unsettled as he found Fenrir's unwavering gaze on him throughout the whole meal.

"You wished to discuss something?" Remus asked, putting his fork down and using a napkin to wipe at his lips. He dropped the napkin on the table, meeting Fenrir's gaze.

"I did," Fenrir replied slowly. "I will get straight to the point, Remus. We're the next two rulers of Ravenclaw. You are first in line and I'm second, a distant cousin, but an heir none-the-less. I wish to talk to you about strengthening the ties of the Kingdom."

Remus nodded. "And how do you suggest we do that?"

Fenrir smiled, slightly pointed teeth gleaming at Remus. "The people worship you because of your tragic story, but they trust and respect me. They already see me as their king."

"You want me to abdicate the throne?" Remus asked in disbelief. Fenrir was aware that Remus was only not on the throne because of his age.

"No? Well, that was not going to be my first suggestion," Fenrir drawled. "I was going to suggest marriage."

"Oh?" Remus replied. He hadn't anticipated the response. "To who?"

His teeth gleamed as Fenrir slowly smiled once more. "Me, of course. The Kingdom would prosper well with us both, Remus. They already see me as somewhat of a King to them, so to take you as my partner—my mate—would make the people happy."

Remus shivered at the tone. Though he trusted Fenrir, he had the impression that the only person who would be happy with the deal would be Fenrir himself. He needed time to think, but Fenrir was watching him carefully, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know if this is the best idea, Fenrir," he softly offered. "I believe—"

"You may want to rethink your answer, pup," Fenrir growled. "I'm not third in line anymore, I'm second. This kingdom wants me as their king, and that's what I'll be. You can accept me as your betrothed, you can step aside, or you can be taken out of the equation altogether."

Remus' eyes hit the table as he thought about things. A brief passing thought made him wonder whether Fenrir Greyback had fought his way to second place. After all, his father had died in an accident that was unexplained, though Fenrir was the only one with him at the time, and a few other family members had perished. Remus had secretly suspected a family curse.

But now he feared that the curse could be Greyback.

He shook his head, clearing the suspicions. He had no reason not to trust Fenrir in the past, so why would he now? It had been known to marry distant relations rather than marrying someone from another Kingdom to promote peace. Wasn't that what Fenrir was doing?

"I would like a few days to consider your offer," he replied, wanting nothing more than to get away from the older man—genuine offer or not. "If you'll excuse me, I have to think about all of this. It's... it's overwhelming, and—"

As he rose, Greyback got up too, approaching him quickly. A large hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him close. "You have two days," Greyback stated, "but I've given you the choices, and I expect an answer. I believe that the marriage upon your seventeenth birthday would be beneficial to both of us."

Remus repressed a shudder as Greyback's eyes moved up and down his body. There had to be a way to buy himself some time. He nodded his head, waited for Greyback to release him, and walked from the room.

...oOo...

Two days later, Greyback found Remus at dinner. "I believe you owe me an answer."

Remus had spent the two days thinking about what to do to buy time. "I have conditions," he began. "To prove that you are… serious about this."

For a moment, he thought that Greyback was going to refuse, but the smirk on his lips was evidence that he was willing to humour Remus.

"Conditions?"

Remus nodded slowly. "As the elder party in this… betrothment, you would be required to present me with gifts, correct?" He bit his lip for a moment. "And I have decided what those gifts are. I would like some new clothing."

Fenrir looked surprised at the request, as though the demand was easier than expected.

"But these are what I require. A doublet, a cloak and a waistcoat. One must be as silver as the moon, one as golden as the sun, and one as sparkling as the stars."

There was a long pause. "Your wish is my command," Fenrir murmured, bowing slightly before leaving. Remus let out a deep breath when the door clicked shut behind Fenrir.

It would take a long time to find anything as fine as those items.

...oOo...

It took a month. Remus had expected at least six, but a month later, Fenrir presented the items to Remus. A waistcoat that was as golden as the sun, a doublet that was as sparkling as the stars, and a cloak that was as silver as the moon.

"As requested," Fenrir said, with a hungry look at Remus. "I believe upon presentation and acceptance of the courting gifts, the marriage may be brought forward? Is that not the law?"

"It… it is," Remus whispered, sickened at the idea of his plan backfiring so horribly. "Though there is one more item I require."

Fenrir straightened from the bow. "Boy, do not test me. I retrieved the items you requested. If this is a bid to—"

"No, it's the traditional wolf-coat," Remus replied. "I will need one made up for me."

The look of fury disappeared. "I will have someone look into that for you. But know this, when that coat is ready, the ceremony will take place."

"I understand," Remus replied steadily.

...oOo...

The clothes shoved into a bag and as many jewels and as much gold as he could carry, Remus wrapped himself up in the coat and snuck from the castle. He didn't have a plan as such, he just knew that getting married the next day was the worst decision he would ever make.

The looks Fenrir had been giving him made him feel sick. He had trusted the man, but as the time went on, that trust was fading, and he didn't know what else to do but leave.

Though it pained him to leave his father's kingdom, he knew he could come back when he was stronger. He hadn't officially given up the throne after all, and there would be a year before they could give it to Fenrir.

His best hope was to ask for help in a neighbouring Kingdom, and after considering his options, he decided that the Kingdom of Gryffindor was his best bet.

Taking a horse from the stable, he left his kingdom.

...oOo...

"I am Lord Tonks from the kingdom of Hufflepuff," Remus lied, thinking of the quiet Lord he had met a few times on his travels back when he was a child. Ted Tonks wasn't the oldest brother, so wasn't first in line for the estate. He was the lesser known Tonks. The third brother.

Remus had to explain himself when he met the Palace Hunters on the road. He had proven himself with his finery and they had escorted him to the castle.

It wasn't long before King James himself came to greet Remus. "Lord Tonks, I don't believe we've met," he said, as Remus bowed before him. "What brings you to my Kingdom?"

Remus didn't know what to say. He had only lied about who he was to the Hunters so they would allow him to continue on his way. He hadn't expected them to escort him to the castle. "I… I'm… I'm just passing through. I was visiting the Kingdom of… of Ravenclaw," he lied, sure that James would see through the lies. He stood firmly, wanting nothing more than to turn and leave.

"Well, stay here for a few nights," James offered. "We're about to celebrate the Summer Solstice, and you are welcome to stay for that."

Remus tried to think of a way to refuse without sounding rude, but the King took the momentary silence as an acceptance. "Wonderful, my Head Guard, Frank, will show you to your room."

...oOo...

"Ted Tonks?" A man emerged from the shadows, looking at the door which the stranger had left by.

James shook his head. "Clearly not Ted, as we were at his wedding a couple of months ago. This… I can't quite place him, but... " James hesitated. "I need to think about this."

"And you'll allow him to reside at the castle whilst you do? He's already lied to you."

"We don't know why. He may have been too scared to give his real name. The guards said he's turned up with items pertaining to his wealth, and—"

"He may have robbed them?"

"Regulus, when will you stop seeing the worst in people?" James asked. "He came from Ravenclaw and he knows enough about the Tonks family to give Ted's name of all of them. A smart move. I wouldn't have known had I not met Ted quite recently. I think he's running. Not because he's done something wrong, but because he's scared. I think he's someone who needs to hide."

"Are you sure about this?" Regulus asked, knowing that James was set on letting the man stay.

"Who are we to turn away anyone that needs our help? I have a good feeling about him."

...oOo...

"That is an amazing cloak," came a voice. Remus spun around from where he had been watching the celebrations, his eyes falling on a man with dark hair. Grey, stormy eyes observed him carefully, and Remus realised that there was a more perfect shade of grey than the silver of the moon.

This man's eyes put the colour of the cloak to shame.

He found he couldn't speak as the man approached. "I hope you don't mind, but I am Lord Black. I saw you standing alone and wished to keep you company?"

"I'm afraid I'm not one for conversation," Remus murmured.

"Then we can stand in silence and watch the festivities together?" Sirius suggested in a tone that made it clear that he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

"I must admit, I love watching the festivities," Sirius began, breaking the silence. "Back in my homeland, they were never like this. My parents prefered events to be more… organised." His eyes moved from the bright colours dancing across the sky to Remus. "Your homeland… is it like this?"

Remus knew nothing of Ted Tonks' homeland, but saying that wouldn't go down well. "My homeland was beautiful," he offered instead. "Before… when I was younger, it would be like this. The people, the noise, the music. There would be fireworks and entertainment. It was magical."

"But not now?" Sirius pushed.

"Not… I… perhaps it's me who has changed, and not the festivities," Remus offered. "They don't hold the same magic I had once felt."

Sirius nodded his head, processing the information. Any scrap he could get would bring him closer to the man's identity. "But you have your annual ball next month. Surely that will be magical on its own?"

"Oh yes, those certainly are," Remus confirmed, his eyes moving back to the fireworks. Sirius smiled to himself. He had ruled Hufflepuff out as the man's homeland. Everyone in Hufflepuff knew that the ball was a week away.

If the man was a Slytherin, he would have reacted to Sirius' name. Everyone in Slytherin knew of the Black family.

That left Ravenclaw or somewhere further out, though 'Ted' didn't have an accent, leading Sirius to believe that he was from one of the four kingdoms.

There was a lull in the conversation as Sirius observed the man closely. He took in the way he held himself and how comfortable he seemed in Sirius' presence. That wasn't something someone could fake: this man was used to dealing with the higher classes, and was perhaps of a higher class himself.

His gaze moved across the man's face, taking in the breathtaking amber eyes and the soft looking lips, making Sirius forget what his next question was going to be.

"Would you care to dance?" Sirius asked, holding his hand out. The man's eyes widened and he backed away, his face flaming red. "I must… I feel suddenly tired, I must retire."

Sirius watched him rush towards the castle.

...oOo...

"I talked with the newcomer last night," Sirius stated, over breakfast. "I believe he's from Ravenclaw, or outside of the four Kingdoms. He doesn't know who I am, and he doesn't know about the upcoming Hufflepuff ball, which rules them both out." He hesitated for a moment. "He's rather handsome, isn't he?"

"Hmm? I… I suppose," James replied. "I wasn't looking to be honest. All I knew was that he was scared of something. So... you find him attractive?"

"I do. I suppose he will be moving on in a few days?"

James shook his head. "I think we can get him to stick around for a bit. I think he's moving on because he fears we'll discover his lie. If he finds out we're already aware of it and still want to help, he'll be more likely to stay. He's not leaving until after the last celebration, so we have time to find out."

...oOo...

"It is a beautiful sight," Sirius stated, approaching 'Ted' once more. "I must admit: Gryffindor have far outdone Slytherin. I prefer to spend time here with my family."

"Your family lives here now?" Remus asked.

Sirius shook his head with a dry laugh. "I ran away," he admitted. "The King… Prince at the time, took me in. His parents treated me as their own. My brother followed, searching for me… and the rest is history, as they say."

"Did your brother find you? Were you easy to find?" Remus murmured, giving Sirius his full attention.

"Only because I wanted him to find me," Sirius replied. "My brother was the only thing keeping me in Slytherin. I didn't belong there. I found a home and family in Gryffindor, but there will always be the thought of me moving on one day, falling in love and making my own life. Perhaps marriage?"

Remus snorted. "I'm sure that will go well. You will be able to choose your own bride or groom."

"And get the King to bless the union," Sirius replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. He filed that piece of information away: the stranger's dislike of arranged marriages. "So, what about you? Anyone special in your life? When you go back to Hufflepuff, is there any impending marriage?"

"Me? I am… avoiding marriage at the moment. I would much prefer to marry someone I cared for, rather… there's no-one special in my life."

"You haven't met anyone who has taken your interest?"

"Growing up, I was never offered the chance. My guardian was quite strict. I hadn't even been outside of… my home, for a long time."

"So, you're single?" Sirius murmured, moving closer. "Ted, will I get that dance tonight?"

"I'm… I'm not —"

"Not attracted to men?"

"No, I mean, I am very attracted to you, it's just that… I'm not used to this."

"This? What do you mean?"

"This attention. You want to dance with me? I am sure there are so many more people here worthy of your time."

"I think you're worthy of my time," Sirius murmured. "It is my time and I'll chose where to spend it. You're an attractive, single man… very much like I am, and I would like to get to know you better, should you choose to stick around a bit longer. You already fit in, wearing the golden colour of Gryffindor." He gestured to Remus' waistcoat.

"I'm sorry, I have to return to Hufflepuff soon," Remus lied.

"Then allow me to accompany you? I will find somewhere to stay, an inn perhaps? I want to get to know you."

Remus held back the panic at the idea of this man travelling with him. Surely Sirius would quickly learn of his lie. "Maybe that dance is a good idea after all."

Sirius took his hand and pulled him close. He knew that the man was doing what he could to change the subject, and would allow it, but only for that night.

...oOo...

Sirius had been watching his stranger for a long time now, trying to decide on a course of action. He could continue with the subtle questions and try and catch the man out, or he could truthfully explain that he knew he wasn't Ted Tonks and somehow stop the man fleeing.

He couldn't help but admire the man, who was looking more relaxed than he had for the previous two days. Maybe he could get the man to stay permanently?

Fireworks started in the distance, but the bright colours didn't distract from 'Ted', who was wearing a doublet that gave Sirius no doubt that he was someone important back in his own Kingdom. Only the richest Lords and Royalty could afford something like that.

Not that it mattered anymore. The man could have been a homeless pauper, and Sirius' feelings wouldn't change towards him.

But Sirius' thoughts raced back to the royalty idea, and he tried to rack his brain over who the King was in Ravenclaw, but found his memory to be lacking in information from that Kingdom. That place had never given Gryffindor or Slytherin any trouble, and James had once sent a letter to the castle—though Sirius couldn't remember who it was addressed to—asking for a treaty, but there had been no reply.

It was during his musings that he heard a commotion inside of the castle. He pushed away from the post and headed inside, spotting Frank and a few guards facing off against some other guards, wearing the colours blue and bronze. He nodded at James and Regulus, who were approaching from the other door. He had no doubts about what they had been doing.

"What seems to be the trouble here?" Sirius asked, attempting to pass Frank, though Frank blocked his path.

"These men are looking for someone," Frank replied. "They recognised a horse in our stables. I've told them that they do not have permission to go in our stables, it's an invasion and we'll treat it as a threat."

"They are from Ravenclaw?"

The leader stepped forward, an older man with cruel eyes and a sneer on his face. "I believe that somewhere in this land, is my betrothed."

"Your… betrothed?" Sirius repeated, hoping that they weren't talking about 'Ted'. "And that gives you some right to just walk in here like this? I'm not sure who you think you are, but—"

"You will talk to the King of Ravenclaw that way?" the man sneered, baring his teeth at Sirius. "Show some respect, boy."

"King? There is no king in Ravenclaw. There is a Prince there, I believe, but no King," Regulus stated.

"I will be king, with or without that little whelp," the man snapped. "He has… I believe he has been taken and I intend to find him."

"Can you describe him?" Regulus asked, noticing the man's sudden change of story. "We are unable to help you find someone we don't know. If you could describe him, we can put the word out with the guard. You are Lord…"

"Lord Greyback," Fenrir snapped. "Prince Remus: he's not yet seventeen. Dark blond hair and amber eyes. He would have arrived on a palace horse. He left with some noticeable clothing, including a cloak as silver as the moon, a waistcoat as golden as the sun, and a doublet that shined like the stars. He also had his traditional Ravenclaw wedding coat made of fur."

"Frank! That is the man you described before!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Uh, it is," Frank confirmed, not wanting to give anything away without permission.

"Where was it he was heading? Slytherin?"

Frank nodded, understanding what Sirius was doing. "He was young and the horse was tired. We allowed him to leave his horse and take one of our own in a trade, and I personally escorted him to the border. I insisted Slytherin was dangerous, but he paid no heed. I couldn't go any further with him, so cannot offer anything more."

"Thank you, Frank," James said. "Lord Greyback, I wish you all the best in finding the Prince, but we have a celebration here, and—"

"And I thank you for your invitation. Me and my men would be delighted to stay." He started towards the doors, but Regulus cleared his throat. "Lord Greyback, allow a servant to take your cloak, and me and King James will show you around?"

He nodded, and Sirius moved towards the door as the Lord was distracted. He slowed upon realising that a guard was following. They knew that he had lied about Remus.

Sirius slipped out of the door, heading in the wrong direction. The guard followed him, and Sirius slipped around the corner, hiding in one of the alcoves that he and James had found in their exploration of the castle, back in their younger days. Once the guard had passed, Sirius slipped out, quickly finding Remus and grabbed him, pulling him into the shadows.

"What do you think you're—"

Sirius covered his mouth. "Greyback is here for you, shut up or someone might recognise your voice. We must hurry and get you hidden."

The annoyed look quickly turned to panic. "How did he find me?" Remus whispered. "He said I'd have to marry him or he'd get me out of his way like my parents. I think he killed my parents. Help me escape and you'll have all the gold—"

"I'll help you because I don't want his hands on you," Sirius replied, pressing his lips against Remus for a moment. "You should have told us. We knew you weren't Ted."

"Why did you allow me to stay?"

"Because you were in trouble," Sirius replied. "Now, follow me."

...oOo...

"Where are we?" Remus asked, looking around.

"A shack in the middle of nowhere. Impossible to get into from the outside; unless, you know the other secret passage, that is. People believe this shack is haunted and stay away. We'll be safe here."

He moved closer to Remus. "Why did you not get the guards to take him away?"

"He raised me after my parents' deaths. I have no doubt that at least half the guards are loyal to him."

"Well, we aren't going to let him take your Kingdom," Sirius promised, taking Remus' hand. "James will help: I'll be at your side and we can lead the army. Those loyal to you will step aside, and the rest will give up in fear of our number."

"You'd do that for me?"

Sirius grinned and nodded. "If it hasn't escaped your notice, I've become quite captivated by you."

"And by my side?"

"Is that an offer?" Sirius asked, his heart pounding against his chest. "Prince Remus." He bowed. "I'm at your service for as long as you need and want me. I pledge myself—"

His words were stolen as Remus grabbed him, pressing inexperienced lips to his. Sirius' arms wound around him, holding him tightly. "My Prince," Sirius murmured. "I wish to return to Ravenclaw with you, if—"

"Yes!" Remus exclaimed. "I want you to come with me too. Though I can't take the throne unless I'm wed, so I—"

"If you have no objections, it's not just fighting I'm offering to do at your side. I know it's only been three days, but—"

"But you've saved my life and protected me," Remus finished. "I trust you, and I must admit that you've captivated me too!"

"We can be wed in the castle the moment we get Greyback over the Slytherin borders, and take back your home immediately, whilst he's not there to stand in the way and rally the troops," Sirius suggested. "If that's not too soon?"

"It's not too soon," Remus whispered. "How long will that take?"

"James will find a way to get him to leave. In the meantime, I imagine you must be quite tired. The bed here isn't amazing, but no-one will find us and safety is our priority. Would you like to sleep?"

Remus nodded. "This is the first time I've been excited at the prospect of marriage. I can't wait to start my life with you. But I have to admit, I'm nervous!"

"Nervous?" Sirius repeated. "I'll happily stand guard, if you feel—"

"No, I… I want to fall asleep with you next to me," Remus admitted, blushing. "And I really want to kiss you again. I'm just nervous because this is all new to me."

"Well, we are betrothed," Sirius pointed out softly. "You can kiss me whenever you want! In fact, I'm sure it'll pass the time quicker if we do!"

"You know, I think you're right. Which way did you say the bedroom was?"

Sirius smirked as he held Remus' hand and led him towards the bedroom.

* * *

 **4485 words**

 **Thanks to the Wanderers and Shannon for helping :)**


	8. Female Remus

Female!Remus

 **This is Our Moment**

* * *

Remus clutched the pen in her hand as she considered what to write in her letter. She hadn't seen Reggie in six months. She was very concerned about him. Over those six months, her life had quickly tipped upside-down and she found herself with no-one to turn to and no friends to help her.

She was in a small, cold and damp hostel and very much alone.

Sighing, Remus grabbed the sheet of paper with Reggie's name on it and crumpled it up. She licked her dry lips as she reached for the slip of paper with an address—no name—on it. The address she had been planning on sending the letter to.

The address Reggie had given her in case of an emergency.

A crazy thought popped into her head. If she sent a letter, it might not reach Regulus. However, if she turned up, she would know that he'd gotten the message. Even if he sent her away after hearing the news, at least he'd be aware that he was going to be a father.

Remus grabbed her purse, checking the money in it, wondering at the cost of getting a train to London. Without giving herself a second to think about it, she grabbed a jumper and a book from the pile of library books, and slipped it into her bag before leaving.

Maybe she could get a last-minute ticket on the cheap?

...oOo...

The tickets weren't cheap, but Remus was sure she had enough left over when paying, for the necessities. She caught the first train, knowing that if she stopped to think about it, she'd quickly change her mind.

The journey was long and she hadn't thought to check the weather in London, only checking the teletext for North Wales. During the stop-over in Birmingham, Remus considered transfiguring her jumper into a jacket.

She quickly changed her mind. The baby was causing her magic to go haywire, and she didn't want to risk something crazy happening that would potentially cause people to pay attention to her, or to cause her to miss her train.

Remus hated when people paid attention to her. The amount of disapproving looks the old ladies gave her was astonishing.

Finally the train pulled into London and Remus headed out of the station to start looking.

...oOo...

James pushed his hand through his already unruly hair as he headed to the front door, wearing only his pyjama bottoms. He hadn't been expecting anyone who would knock, and he hoped it wasn't someone attempting to lecture him on religion.

Last time, he had been at the door for almost an hour before Sirius walked in, told the people to get lost, and proceeded to sob about the latest relationship-gone-wrong.

The sobbing had scared them off more than anything.

What James hadn't expected was to find a girl at the door, her arms folded protectively in front of her.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"I'm… I'm looking for someone," she began, amber eyes meeting his.

James' eyes travelled down to her stomach. "Sirius'?" he guessed, grimacing. After all the talks Pops had given, and Sirius had to knock a witch up.

"I'm not… familiar with that name," she mumbled. "Reggie? He gave me this as an emergency address. Is he here?"

James hesitated. Sirius would loathe to get involved in Regulus' messes, but James wasn't going to leave a pregnant girl out in the cold. Especially one without a coat. "Yeah, I know Reg. I live with his brother. Do you want to come in?"

The girl walked in greatfully and James shut the door behind her. "Reg doesn't live here," he stated. "He's… well, not on speaking terms with his brother. If he's given you this address, you must be someone important?"

"Not particularly," the girl whispered, looking around, shivering still.

James frowned. "Let me just turn the heating up. Take a seat on the sofa. Would you like some tea?"

"If you don't mind. Two sugars and milk."

James nodded, leaving the room before withdrawing his wand and warming the place up. He headed to the kitchen where a sleepy Sirius was slumped over the table.

"Kettle's on," he mumbled. "Who was at the door?"

"We have a situation. Reg's girlfriend is on our sofa."

"What?" Sirius quickly woke up and was on his feet immediately. He missed the jealousy in James' voice as he rushed past him and to the living room.

"I'm sorry, but Regulus and I aren't on good terms, so I'm not sure why he gave this address, but we can't help you…" Sirius trailed off, his eyes taking in the girl who had jumped up at his abrupt entrance. She was the same height as him with captivating amber eyes and thin lips that somehow drew Sirius' attention. Her hair was short and dark-blonde, falling messily around her ears. She wore leggings and a dress that was slightly too small for her stomach.

"I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," she replied, tearing her gaze away and rushing towards the front door as she pulled her jumper back over her head. "Just tell Regulus to contact Remus. Tell him it's urgent. I shouldn't have come, I'm so sorry, I'm—"

"Pregnant," Sirius blurted out, rushing forward to grab her arm. "I'm sorry, wait… Remus, did you say? Please stop. You said something is urgent. Is something wrong with… with the baby?"

She halted and Sirius quickly moved around her. "Remus?"

"And you're Sirius? You're Reggie's brother? I didn't mean to cause any problems, I just hoped someone here could help me find him."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was being rude. Sit down. Would you like anything?"

"I think your boyfriend mentioned a cup of tea?"

"My boyfriend?" Sirius' mouth opened in disgust. "You _are_ joking, right? I mean, I've snogged a few blokes in my time, but Jamie is not my type!"

"Oi, I'm a catch," James huffed, dropping the spoon and moving into the hallway, his arms folded.

"If you could just call Regulus and let him know I'm here. I only have three hours until my train and I was hoping to give him the news. I'd prefer you not tell him about the baby until he comes over."

"Wait, he doesn't know you're pregnant?" Sirius blurted out. "How long has he been gone?"

"Six months. I'm eight months pregnant, though I wasn't sure about it last time I saw him."

"Look, I'll make a couple of calls," Sirius assured her. "Go and sit with James in the kitchen."

She smiled at him gratefully and he felt a fluttering in his stomach. He had told himself he'd never contact his parents again, but there was something about Remus that had him locking the door, heading to the fireplace, and making the first firecall to Grimmauld Place.

...oOo...

"Mother said that Regulus has been missing for five months."

"Fuck. Do you think that…" James asked, leaving Remus wondering what wasn't being said.

"No. Mother and Father said that it looks like he's still around, but he hasn't been home for so long. I didn't tell them about Remus of course."

"Shouldn't they know? It's their grandchild, and—"

"Trust me, you don't want them to know," Sirius replied. "Can you leave an address and… and we'll sort something out? I mean, we can come and see you and check on you and the baby? When are you due?"

"Next month," Remus replied.

Sirius nodded. "The second I hear from my brother, I'll write to you or I'll send him down, I promise. I'll get my friends to start asking around."

She smiled sadly. "Thank you. I'm sorry again for having caused all of this."

She scribbled her address on the paper provided and stood up. "It was nice to meet you both." She smiled at the pair before getting up and heading to the door.

Feeling the blast of cold as the door opened, Sirius grabbed an old jacket hanging behind the door. "Remus, keep warm," he said, handing it to her. "If you need anything at all, let me know. Hold on, let me give you our phone number."

"Thank you."

After taking the slip of paper with the number, Remus left and Sirius could only watch her walk away. The strange sensation filled him once more, coupled with jealousy. Remus was beautiful and was carrying Regulus' baby, and for the first time, he envied his brother. Regulus had never cared for having his own family, yet there was a part of Sirius that couldn't wait to settle down and be a father.

It wasn't until that night did Sirius look at the slip of paper on the table. "James, what's a hostel?"

...oOo...

Remus woke at six the next morning to a pounding on her door. She grabbed a baseball bat she had spent good money on, and shifted closer to the door. Her wand was tucked into the waistband of her pyjamas and hidden by her top.

"It won't unlock," she heard someone mutter. She wished she could use magic to lock the door, but the pregnancy had her magic on the blink. She moved closer, pressing her ear against the door and listening.

"Sirius, what if she didn't get back yet? What if she's sleeping?"

 _Sirius?_

Remus moved over to the door, unlocked it, and opened it carefully, baseball bat at the ready.

On the other side stood Sirius and James.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Sirius stared at her with wide eyes, so she turned her gaze to James.

"Your address had the name of a hostel on it," James replied. "We couldn't just leave you here."

"Well, you wouldn't be the first," she muttered. "I'm fine here. I have everything I need."

"Do you?" James asked, looking past her. Remus pulled the door closed, not allowing them to see in.

"Yes. Thank you for visiting, but I'm fine."

"How about a cup of tea?" James pushed. "Or the toilet, come to think of it, we've been on the train for hours."

"Did you get the overnight train?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's right," James replied smoothly, even though they had apparated. Though they couldn't tell Remus that. "It's been a long journey and we realised we didn't have your phone number. Can we come in?"

They pushed past her into the room before Remus could even try to stop them.

...oOo...

Remus set down the two cups of tea at the table in front of James and Sirius before pouring a glass of water for herself and taking the other seat. The milk left could only stretch for two cups; she'd have to get some more in the shops.

"You can't stay here," Sirius finally said. "We saw a condom on the floor of the stairwell. It was all used and had… stuff and…" he shivered. "Someone was passed out on the stairs. I could smell sick."

Remus shrugged. "Well, I can't go home. My father gave me the ultimatum. If I wanted to stay, I had to get rid of the baby. I couldn't even consider it. I have this place, and it's not brilliant, but it's somewhere to live and for that I should be grateful."

Sirius frowned. "Pack your stuff, you can't have the baby here. You might get stabbed or… someone might give you drugs or something?! James, tell her! We smelt drugs on the way in! Weeds!"

"He's right," James said, a matching expression on his face. "That's Regulus' baby in there…" he stared at her stomach in wonder, his fingers twitching as though he wanted to touch the bump. "Maybe you feel safe here, but think about the baby too. You're family now, Remus. We look after family."

She looked between the pair, seeing the honesty in their eyes. It had been a long time since anyone showed her kindness and she felt tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry but you can't just offer me a room," she began. "You don't know anything about me. I could be crazy, or a monster…" she bit her lip. "What if I was—"

"Doesn't matter, you've got my niece or nephew in there," Sirius replied softly. "You're coming to stay with us. You're family now, Remus. It's a month before you're having a baby and you've just admitted that you haven't got anyone. Well, now you have us. We have a spare room for you to move into, and we can help!"

Remus swallowed. People rarely went out of their way to help her these days, and Reggie's brother was offering her somewhere to live. Someone actually cared.

"We're not leaving without you," James insisted. "Plus, if Reg doesn't find you here, he'll assume you've come to the house, right?"

"I suppose," she began.

"Great! Now that's sorted, let's get you packed and ready to go. Do we need a van?"

"I don't own much of this stuff," she admitted, accepting defeat as she walked over to the bed in the corner, pulling a suitcase from underneath it.

Sirius stared at the belongings. Two suitcases of things and a large shoulderbag. She clutched a whimsical, musical clock against her chest, looking completely lost.

This was everything Remus owned, and Regulus, heir to the Black family—Reggie—left her like this. He felt angry at his brother—even though he _knew_ that Regulus wasn't aware of the baby—for allowing her to end up in a dirty little hostel, even if her accommodation was clean and tidy.

Remus headed into the bathroom to grab her things from there, and Sirius turned to James.

"Well, this is a nice change of scenery."

"It's a prison cell," James replied, looking around.

"I was being sarcastic," Sirius snapped. "It's awful. I'm glad we decided to let her stay."

Sirius had informed James the previous night that if it wasn't nice, they would bring her home with them.

After all, she was carrying his family, and it appeared as though she was a Muggle girl, therefore would be in danger if someone other than him found her. Remus would be safer with him than without.

Sirius continued to rationalise why he was helping Remus out. It certainly wasn't because of the strange attraction he had, or the fact that he had spent the night thinking about her amber eyes rather than sleeping.

He told himself it was just because she needed help.

That was all.

...oOo...

Sirius dropped into the seat facing James at the dining table. Remus had gone into Peter's old room to unpack and take a nap, claiming to be exhausted. Sirius just nodded, not knowing enough about pregnant women to comment.

"Sirius, if this is going to work, you're going to have to take a step back from this," James began.

"I'm not sure I understand," Sirius replied, frowning at his best friend.

"I just mean that you've gotten very attached to a girl you barely know; a girl that was with your brother. We don't know how serious their relationship was, and you're looking at her like… like—"

"Like you used to look at Regulus," Sirius finished, raising his eyebrows. "I admit that I'm very attached, but it's only because she has my family in her stomach. Remus just seems like a good person, and look at where her life was. She was in a hostel and had no-one. That could have been me if I didn't know you… though without the pregnancy."

"As long as you remember who she is," James replied. "You offered to take time off work to help her settle."

"Just one day, and that was so she could register at the doctor's."

James shook his head. "I just don't want you to get hurt if she's hung up on Regulus, and you start pining away for her."

"I know what I'm doing," Sirius insisted. "I'm doing what my brother should be."

"Maybe we could call Evans or Alice and see if they'll come and keep Remus company whilst we're at work?"

Sirius nodded. "Great idea. How about we get a takeaway or something to celebrate tonight, and I'll show Remus around tomorrow and go back into work the next day?"

James rolled his eyes. "Can you get the time off?"

"I'll explain. I'll pop to St. Mungo's in the morning and tell them the situation. I'm sure they'll give me a day off. I do a lot of extra hours, after all."

...oOo...

Remus pulled her potions from her bag, took her daily dose and tried to stop herself from being sick. They were the most disgusting things she had ever taken, but necessary. The healer had told her that it would be hard to keep the baby safe during the transformations, but the potions would help.

And since she had made it to eight months, the potions were clearly doing their job.

She spent a few minutes sitting on the end of the bed, attempting to find the energy to move; finally the sickness wore away and she rose, heading to one of the suitcases. She began to hang everything in the empty wardrobe before stacking the books onto the desk, not wanting to lean over to put them in the low bookcase.

Finally finished, Remus lay down on the comfortable bed, sighing at the softness of it. It didn't take long to fall asleep.

When she awoke, hours later, Remus noticed it was starting to get dark outside. A knock on her bedroom door made her jump, and she realised that it must have been what woke her up.

She rose from the bed, tucking her wand under the pillow before opening the door, squinting at the bright lights of the hall.

"I'm sorry for waking you, but we were about to order some food and I wanted to see if you liked Chinese or would prefer fish and chips?"

"Oh." She turned around, reaching for her purse on the side, but Sirius shook his head. "Our treat for dragging you from your old life and into ours," he insisted. "Look, you don't have much money, and we're not exactly broke. Let me help you until you have a source of income again, yeah?"

"I do claim benefits," Remus assured him. "Ever since I lost my job at the bookshop. Poor health. I'll let them know tomorrow that I've moved, but I'd like to pay for my own things."

"Just let me sort tonight. What do you want?"

She hesitated. "I'll have what you guys are having."

"Well, I'm having fish and chips, but James wants noodles. So we're going to both. If you'd rather something else, there's a pizza place on the way, and if we walk further down the highstreet, there's a Kentucky Fried Chicken."

"No, don't go out of your way. I'll have fish and chips too," Remus replied with a smile. "Heavy on the vinegar."

...oOo...

Two days later, Remus found herself alone in the flat. She let herself out and decided to run some errands and get them out of the way. She knew the doctors would refer her to St. Thomas' hospital, but she'd have to go to the Ministry herself to find out if there was someone with magic who would be willing to assist in a home birth.

She was given a name: Molly Weasley.

The man in the Werewolf Support Services smiled warmly at her, knowing her because of her father. He informed her that Molly's husband, Arthur, worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and that she should go and see him.

Remus nodded and headed through the Ministry, into the lift, to find Arthur Weasley.

...oOo...

"Hello, would it be possible to see Arthur Weasley please?"

The older man smiled warmly at her, his eyes on her stomach. "Need pregnancy advice?" he asked, his voice croaky. "Well, no man knows more about pregnant women than Arthur here."

"That's not true," a redheaded man replied meekly as he walked into the room. He turned his attention to Remus and smiled widely. "Lovely to meet you… er, do we have an appointment?"

"Oh, we don't," Remus replied. "I was just sent up here actually. I was hoping to meet with your wife."

"Say no more," Arthur insisted. "Come into my office." He gestured to the room he had walked out of, and Remus stepped inside, her eyes widening at the various objects lining the wall of the tiny room.

"Is that a television?" she asked, looking at the small box on the floor.

"Indeed it is. Muggles were just throwing it out! Can you imagine? It's still good, it has all its wires and screws. I'm sure I'll get it to work one day," Arthur insisted. "Sit down and tell me what you need from Molly. I'll make sure to pass the message on."

"Well," she hesitated. "I have a… condition that prevents me from going to St. Mungo's, and I'm in need of someone with medical knowledge and able to assist in a home birth."

"Ah." He nodded knowingly. "Lycanthropy?" He ignored the panicked look. "She's had a few Lycanthropes asking for assistance, so I know she'll be happy to help out. If I take your address, I can get her to floo over to you?"

"I'm living with Muggles," Remus replied, relieved that Arthur hadn't freaked out at her condition. "The father has gone missing, so I'm staying with his brother and his brother's friend. I've only been there a few days now, and they don't know anything."

Arthur nodded his head slowly. "It's the full moon in three days, so once that's over, I can get Molly to meet with you here. Maybe you could take her into Muggle London for a… latte in a week's time?" He looked delighted at his suggestion.

"That would be wonderful, thank you! I could get here around nine, or is that too early?"

"Perfect! Well, I better get back to work." He gestured to the charmed Muggle items on his desk.

"Thank you Mr Weasley," Remus said, slipping from the office.

...oOo...

"Right, I'm going to turn in. Early start tomorrow," James said. "Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight," the pair replied before turning their attention back to the television. It was only a few minutes before Remus took a deep breath, preparing herself to ask the question. She listened to Sirius sing along with the introduction to a television show, before speaking up.

"James is in love with Regulus, isn't he?"

"What, why would—"

"He's fascinated over the fact that I'm carrying Regulus' baby," Remus interrupted. "He's been like that since the moment he answered the door. James gets this… this look in his eyes at the mention of your brother. If he's trying to hide it, well, he's not doing a very good job."

"James has always worn his heart on his sleeve," Sirius muttered. "But he gets that you and Regulus were… are together and—"

"We're not together." She sat up, turning and propping her knee on the sofa in her attempts to face Sirius. "It wasn't like that for us."

"Oh, so you and Reg aren't…"

She snorted. "We were friends. I can tell you how we met, if it helps?"

"It would."

"Well, it started about a year ago," she began. "I had just started working for a bookshop in town and your brother came in, looking for a book. We just started talking about books and got to know each other that way. It was never romantic for us. We started hanging out, having lunch together when I was on breaks, and he'd tell me little bits about his homelife—how he made mistakes and screwed stuff up—and I'd talk about mine. He was so lonely and I've lived quite an isolated life, he was the first person I remember having as a friend." Remus sighed at the memory. "I think the need to feel loved was what caused us to end up together in bed. We both knew what it was: two friends that cared deeply for each other and needed…. Just needed each other in that way. There was nothing romantic, neither of us were in love. We both knew where we stood."

"But no feelings developed?" Sirius checked.

Remus shook her head. "None at all. We have a bond and a child, but nothing romantic. I came here to tell him he's going to be a father, not to win him over or force him to be with me. I don't want that type of relationship with him."

"Good!" Sirius blurted out. Remus frowned slightly. "Not good that you… I mean, I think you and my brother aren't the best match."

"Oh? Aren't I good enough?" she asked, slightly miffed at his response.

"Of course you are. Too good," Sirius added, reaching for her hand. "Remus, you're amazing, and…"

"And?" she pushed, eyes widening as she looked at their joined hands.

"And I think… I'm going to go to bed now." Sirius quickly dropped her hand and raced from the room. He told himself he couldn't act on his attraction. Remus may not be involved with Regulus, or have feelings for him…

But Remus was still heavily pregnant with his brother's child. There was a time and place for making some sort of move, and this was not it!

...oOo...

"I'm going to head back to Wales tonight," Remus said, the next morning, twisting her hands together.

"What? You're not leaving?" Sirius asked, jumping up and successfully knocking his hot tea over, the liquid spilling off the table and onto James, who shrieked. Sirius ignored him, rushing over to Remus. "Was this because of last night? Did I overstep a line? I stopped myself because you're pregnant and it would be wrong for me to make a move, and—"

"Wait, what?" Remus asked, confused. "You were going to make a move?"

Sirius paused at the hopeful tone of voice. "You wanted me to?"

"I… uh, I don't… I mean, I should go."

"Wait, don't go. We like having you here, don't we?"

James glared at Sirius as he dabbed at his lap with a cloth. "Remus, whatever Sirius pulled last night, I'll make sure he doesn't touch you again!"

"Boy...that escalated quickly," Remus laughed. "No… I was just hoping to see my mum. I called her yesterday and… my gran isn't well, so I…" Remus trailed off, hating that she had to lie to the two men that were kind enough to take her in.

"Oh." Sirius bit his lip in thought. "So this isn't about last night?"

Remus couldn't help but grin as she pushed her hair from her amber eyes. "It's not, but let's revisit this conversation when I'm back?"

"Sure. I'll walk you to the station?"

Remus shook her head. "Don't worry, I know the way." She leaned in, placing a kiss on Sirius' cheek, before heading over to James and giving him a hug. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

...oOo...

Remus woke up in the cell, her body aching. She had to admit that the recent transformations weren't as bad as before. She suspected that the wolf inside her was being careful because of the life her body carried. She pushed herself carefully up from the ground, her legs shaking, as she checked herself. No broken bones, no dislocations and no heavily bleeding wounds.

She smiled.

There was a tap on the door. "Awake?"

"Yes," she replied. A hatch opened and her bundle of clothes and wand were pushed through. She spread her legs, awkwardly scooping the stuff from the floor, before straightening. Her back ached, but she tried to ignore the pain as she pulled the clean clothes on.

It was another fifteen minutes until the locks were all released, and Remus waddled from the room, tiredly thanking the Auror who held the door open for her.

"Is it safe to transform when pregnant?" the man asked, glancing at her stomach in concern.

"Don't you worry, I've potions to help keep the baby stable," Remus replied tiredly.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to have a check-up."

Remus snorted. "That's a nice offer, but Werewolves don't usually get check-ups. No-one cares enough to—"

"My fiance checks over any Werewolves that are injured in here, who can't heal themselves," the man replied. "Sit tight and I'll get her to give you a quick checkover before you leave."

Remus searched the man's face for any deceit, but found none. She hesitantly nodded, taking a seat nearby and watching the man walk around the cells, looking in each one. "Just you today," he said, finally turning around. "Are you okay to walk?"

Remus nodded her head. "Thank you, This won't be too much trouble?"

"It won't." He glanced at her stomach again. "You've not been here before?"

"I transformed in my parents' basement before now," Remus said. "But things changed and I'm living somewhere else now. So this was the only place left."

"It's not as bad here as it used to be. I guess it depends on what Aurors end up down here. There are some that aren't all that nice, but the boss usually sends the more sympathetic of us for the full-moons now."

He pushed a door open and Remus spotted a small blonde woman. "Come in, sit down," the woman said. "I'm Alice. You're… wow, you're far along. Hurt? Broken bones?"

Remus could only stare at the enthusiastic witch.

"Wow, that was rude. I wasn't implying that you were large, just that… how can I help you?"

"Well, the Auror suggested I get looked over, just to be on the safe side," Remus replied, walking over to the small bed set up in the corner.

"Of course." Alice said with a grin. "My fiance, Frank. He's so adorable, right?!" Remus wasn't sure if the question was rhetorical, but thankfully Alice didn't leave her long enough to form an answer before talking again. "So… a few details that'll help me when checking you over. Baby's health before the transformation? Boy or girl?"

"The baby was fine before," Remus replied. "And I'm not finding out. I was waiting until the father was with me, but he's… he's gone missing."

Alice clicked her tongue. "What is wrong with men these days," she muttered. "Not taking responsibility for their actions."

"Well, he never found out about the baby. He's actually missing. However, I am now living with his brother…"

Alice''s eyes lit up and the wand halted over Remus' stomach. "Is his brother cute?"

Remus couldn't help but find the witch's enthusiasm infectious. "He is," Remus admitted, blushing slightly.

"Drama," Alice whispered. "I love drama. Tell me the gossip!"

Remus hesitated, usually a very private person, but the thought of having someone—even a stranger— to vent to was tempting.

"Me and the baby's father were just friends, and… no romantic feelings."

"Friends with benefits. Continue!"

"Well, he disappeared and I found out a few days later I was pregnant. He had given me an address in case of emergency, and I went there and it turns out it was his brother's address. The brother and friend invited me to move in with them. Well, they didn't really give me a choice. They turned up at the place I was staying and refused to leave without me."

"And the brother?"

"Utterly gorgeous. The second I laid eyes on him, I swear I fell in love. It could just be hormones though."

"And… have you snogged him yet?"

Remus snorted as she attempted not to laugh. "No, but since he's a Muggle, I had to lie about where I was going and when I said back to Wales, he thought I was actually leaving for good and panicked and it sounded like… like he actually wanted me." Remus knew her confusion was clear in her voice, even though she had tried to hide it.

"Of course he does, you're really pretty," Alice said, leaning back. "Your check-up is done. I'd suggest fixing your diet and getting some more vegetables, but apart from that, you and your baby are both healthy."

Remus grinned.

"So… you packed up your whole life to move to London to live with some Muggle blokes? What do your family think about this?" Alice asked softly.

"They kicked me out when I was pregnant," Remus replied. "I don't have friends because of my condition."

"Well, take my floo details and if you ever want a girl's night, get in touch. I usually work at St. Mungo's, but I'm here after every full moon."

She scribbled her details down onto a bit of paper. "Or owl me or something. I want to hear how it goes with you and your sexy Muggle!"

"I will," Remus promised, clutching the paper and smiling.

Frank led her from the room, leaving her at the empty lockers, bidding her goodbye and wishing her luck, and Remus opened the last closed locker to find her stuff.

She made her way into the nearest toilet, straight to the sink. Opening her bag, she pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste and began to clean herself up, ready for the day ahead.

...oOo...

"Do you think she's okay?" Sirius asked, hovering by the living room door. "Should I go and check on her?"

"Remus said that the journey took a lot out of her. You saw her, she looked exhausted," James replied. "We've got the order meeting soon, there's no point in waking her."

Sirius hesitated. "Fine," he muttered. "But if she's upset that I'm not here when she wakes up, I'll blame you!"

James shook his head. "Calm down. There's leftover pizza for her, and we'll just leave a note saying we went to the pub or something? I can't think of anything else to explain both of us going out at the same time."

The Order meeting had nothing too important, except the mention of Regulus' disappearance. James did get a chance to talk to Lily Evans about the pregnant Muggle girl they had taken in, though had forgone the name of the father. By the suspicious looks Lily was throwing his way, Sirius got the impression that Lily was convinced that he had gotten a girl pregnant.

He didn't correct her.

After Lily had agreed to coming over, Sirius pulled James aside, as a thought struck him.

"Remus could go into labour at any time and have the baby," he hissed.

"Yeah… I'm sure she's not in labour now, you're just worrying over—"

"No, I mean… the tapestry."

James paled. "Shit. What are you going to do?"

Sirius sighed. "We're going to have to sneak in there and change it, aren't we?"

...oOo...

 _Of course they'd get caught,_ Sirius thought as he stared at his stern father and the house-elf.

"Is this to do with the newest line on the tapestry?" Orion asked, looking between them.

Sirius glanced at the tapestry, the line curling and twisting under Regulus' name. "Perhaps."

"And the line isn't the right colour," Orion continued. "This has something to do with your call the other day."

"Father, it's not—"

"A Muggle or someone of a lower blood status," Orion murmured. "Regulus can't—"

"He's not in love with her, he just got her pregnant before disappearing. Father, this will be your grandchild, you can't let mother know. She'll… who knows what she'll do."

Orion watched his son, a mask settling over his face.

"I want to change the tapestry. I need to confuse it so it thinks the child is mine. The line won't appear if it's mine, and mother won't care. I know you worry that this baby will sully Regulus' name, but put that on me instead. Regulus' name would remain intact, and no-one will get hurt. Not the baby, not the mother."

Orion sighed. "Very well. But the only person to change the tapestry is me." With a flick of his wand, Sirius' picture returned, the line shimmering out of existence for a moment, until appearing under Sirius' name. The pictured faded once more behind the scorched mark caused by Walburga.

"We won't speak of this again," Orion stated, his eyes falling on the house-elf who had been watching. "That's an order, Kreacher. You won't tell anyone about this, or even hint or suggest that Regulus has bore a child, or that the tapestry has been amended. You won't tell anyone of any of the events of this evening." He turned back to Sirius and James. "I suggest you leave before your mother finds out you were here."

"Thank you Father," Sirius said softly.

Orion managed a slight smile. "Next time, an owl would suffice."

...oOo...

"So… you said we could talk about our… talk?" Sirius knew he sounded awkward, but he didn't care. It had been over a week and Remus hadn't mentioned it at all.

"Oh?" Remus glanced up from her book. "Of course." She bit her lips as she set it aside, turning to face Sirius. "Do you fancy me?"

He nodded, wanting to tell her that it was more than that. That since he first looked into her eyes, he was lost to her. He held back the words. "I really like you, Remus. I… I'd like to take you out on dates and kiss you and stuff."

Remus blushed. "Well, I feel the same."

"Great." Sirius couldn't help the grin that stretched across his face. "Perfect!"

"Great," Remus repeated, mirroring the smile. "So…"

"Yeah, I'm… I want to… can I kiss you?"

"Are you asking me?" Remus snorted.

"Of course not. I mean, I'm going to kiss you now, if that's okay, because—"

He was cut off by Remus' lips pressing gently against his. Sirius could feel his heart racing as his eyes closed and he savoured the feel of her lips.

Too soon, she pulled away. "There, wasn't so hard, was it?"

Sirius whimpered slightly. The kiss wasn't too hard, but something else was.

"Goodnight Sirius," she murmured, grabbing her book and standing up. She leaned in to kiss him once more before heading to her bedroom.

Sirius watched her leave, unable to even consider denying his feelings. He was head over heels in love with a girl his brother had knocked up.

And any wizarding family tree that contained his name would show that he was the father of the baby.

...oOo...

Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing attention to everyone for the meeting. Sirius was on edge, paranoid that Remus would choose that evening to go into labour, whilst he wasn't there.

"The raid last night was unsuccessful due to our team being there," Dumbledore began solemnly. "Though Benji Fenwick is hurt and will be spending a bit of time recovering. Also, Werewolves that have integrated into our society are disappearing one by one. I suspect that Death Eaters are rounding them up and convincing them to join the Death Eaters."

He looked around the room once more.

"A friend of mine has been in touch. His daughter is missing, but he's certain she wouldn't have joined the Death Eaters. Right now, we have no reason to suspect their involvement, though the concern is the missing girl."

"But should we be concerned? If she's a Werewolf, she'll most likely join You-Know-Who given the chance," Someone shouted, causing Alice to spin around. "I have a friend who is a werewolf and she's lovely," Alice snapped.

"And our sister is helping a pregnant werewolf," Gideon added.

"Pregnant?" Alice asked, turning to the twins. "Maybe it's the same girl I met at the full-moon? She was staying in the holding cells at the Ministry for the full-moon."

"Unusual name," Fabian added. "Rem… Remmy?"

"Remus," Gideon corrected him.

"That's her!" Alice cried, grinning at them.

"And it seems we've found our missing girl," Albus stated, smiling. "If you could just…"

"Wait, hold on. You're telling me that the pregnant Muggle girl that appeared on my doorstep is a werewolf and a witch?" Sirius demanded loudly.

"You're the brother," Alice squealed. "The plot thickens!"

Albus looked between the small group. "The meeting is over. Can the six of you involved stay behind please?"

...oOo...

"Three weeks ago, she turned up, looking for Regulus. He got her pregnant and then disappeared. He left our address in case of an emergency. Remus told me they met at her work. She kept calling him Reggie."

Albus turned to Molly, who had turned up after being summoned by the twins. "She told me she was living with Muggles and that she was scared of them finding out the truth."

"But she lied to us," James stated.

"If she told you, she'd be breaking the law," Alice said. "If you never told her you were both wizards, how would she know? She's lied just as much as the both of you have."

They looked towards Dumbledore for an answer, and he contemplated for a moment.

"I believe what's happened is Regulus was sent to find the Werewolves and bring them to his Lord," he began. "Instead, he became attached to Remus and formed a bond or friendship with her. He left her your details in case any other Death Eaters turned up, knowing you'd keep her safe. I suspect he knew she was a witch, so didn't outright tell her he was a Wizard. Therefore she thought him to be a Muggle and a friend, whilst he gained her trust."

Sirius sighed and nodded. "So, what do we—" he was cut off by an alarm.

"What's that?" Fabian asked.

"She's going into labour. My baby… uh, Regulus' baby is coming." He rushed from the room, the others all following.

Alice and Frank Disapparated behind James and Sirius, with Molly quickly heading home for her supplies first.

...oOo...

Remus paced the hallway, her body hurting as the contractions hit. She had tried and failed to send a patronus to Molly, her magic on the blink once more.

The sound of the door smashing open relieved her, knowing that she wasn't alone anymore. Arms held her. "Remus, are you alright?"

"I can't get a hold of my… midwife!"

"Don't worry, she'll be here. We've brought Alice along. She'll help until Molly gets here."

Remus clung to Sirius as he led the way to the sitting room. "Do you want something to help the pain?"

"I don't understand. How do you know Alice and Molly?"

"Remus, tonight, I wasn't out drinking with James. I was at an Order meeting. I'm not a Muggle. I found out tonight that you're not a Muggle either. We've both been keeping secrets because of stupid laws."

"Not stupid, imagine if Muggles knew—" she panted loudly, trying to get in control of the pain.

"Right, not stupid. I know you're a witch and you have Lycanthropy. I'm a wizard, so is James. But that won't change anything."

"Can we do this when I'm in the comfortable water?" she begged.

"Oh. Right." Sirius led her over to the birthing pool where Molly and Alice were. Molly started pulling at her clothes, and James and Frank quickly left the room.

"Do you want me to stay?" Sirius whispered.

"Do you want to stay?"

"Do you know what I did last week?" Sirius asked. "I snuck into a house I swore I'd never enter again, because I was scared. The tapestry would show Regulus having a child and it'd put yours and the baby's safety at risk. My father changed it. Anyone who has me on their tapestry is going to see me become a father tonight. That's what I want. I want you and I want this baby and I want to be here when… when it…" he gestured to her lower body as Molly pulled a charmed top over her head, offering her some modesty.

She snorted, amused. "You have such a way with words. I'd like you to stay. If your brother comes back, we'll tell him the truth, but… if you want to raise the baby with me, I can't say no to that, or say no to being with you."

Sirius helped her into the water, before kneeling on the floor next to the birthing pool. He took her hand. "Is this a good time to tell you I love you?"

"Perfect timing," she replied, closing her eyes as the pain returned. "I love you too."

...oOo...

Two hours later, Sirius walked from the room, a small bundle in his arms. Frank and James were sitting around the dining table, and they jumped up at the sight of him.

"Guys, I have a son!"

James slapped him carefully on the back, leaning over to take a look at the baby. "He does look like you at least," he said.

"Of course he does," Sirius replied, snorting. "He's so tiny. I have to get him back to Remus now, she'll probably wonder where I've taken him."

He turned around, heading to the living room where the birthing pool was nowhere to be seen, and Remus was half-conscious on the sofa, sweat-soaked hair stuck to her face. She smiled at the sight of Sirius and held her arms out. Sirius passed the baby over.

"So, we should get married," he blurted out. "You know, our boy should have married parents."

"A poor excuse," Remus replied, trying not to smile.

"Well, marry me because we're in love?"

"Why not?" she replied with a grin. "I suppose I'm not going to get a better offer than that!"

Sirius laughed, leaning up to kiss her cheek, before peering down at the baby. "So, what are you going to call him?"

"I think a star name would be nice, just in keeping tradition. I was thinking Regulus as a middle name…" she looked at Sirius hopefully.

"I like… Eridanus," Sirius offered. "Eridanus Regulus Black?"

Remus nodded, looking at the red-faced baby with a tuft of black hair on his head. "I like it too. Eridanus it is."

...oOo...

James stood in the corner, holding his Godson who was staring up at him curiously, as Remus and Sirius danced their first dance as a married couple. He couldn't help but be happy for them, he had never seen Sirius so taken with someone as Remus.

They were perfect for each other.

He watched as the song came to an end, and the couple froze, before walking form the dance-floor, and James rushed over, clutching the baby in his arms.

He stopped next to them, his eyes widening as he spotted Regulus.

"What are you doing here? Remus asked.

"I'm looking for a place, mine blew up," Regulus replied. "Though I doubt there'll be space for me after all."

"There is space," Sirius replied, much to Regulus' shock. He took a moment to compose himself, before turning his attention to Remus once more.

"Congratulations," Regulus offered, stepping forward and placing a kiss on Remus' cheek. He reached out a hand to Sirius, shaking it. "If I knew you two would hit it off so well, I'd have introduced you long before."

He turned to look at James, his grin fading as his gaze fell on the baby. "Yours?"

Remus grinned. "No, mine."

"But the baby is... " his eyes widened.

"Regulus, the baby is—"

"Yours," Regulus whispered, a hint of sadness to his tone. "But I can be the favourite Uncle."

"Why aren't you—"

"We're still at war, Sirius. I'm not going to make a claim on the baby now, and it won't be fair for me to do it in the future. You can tell him when he's older, if you choose, but I want Remus and… the baby to stay safe."

"Eridanus Regulus Black," James said.

Regulus grinned once more. "But I want to be a part of his life. I don't want to give him up, Even if you're taking on the father role for him, I'm still his favourite Uncle."

"That," James began, "is my job!"

Remus looked between the pair, before reaching for the child in James' arms. "Why don't you both go and dance together?"

James grinned. "Why not? Reg, for old time's sake?"

Regulus only hesitated for a moment before taking James' hand and allowing the man to lead him to the dance-floor.

Remus turned to Sirius. "That went well."

"Yeah, Regulus has his moments." He leaned in, kissing his wife softly. "So, how long before we consummate the marriage?"

"Well, depending on how James' night goes, he might not be able to look after Eridanus…"

"Did someone call for a babysitter?" Alice demanded from behind her. "Well, here I am! All ready for baby duty!"

Sirius grinned, moving closer to Remus. "Looks like the honeymoon is still on after all."

Remus pretended to groan. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Whatever you like," Sirius smoothly replied. "But this right here, it's our moment. The moment we realise we have this whole future together."

* * *

 **Review please :)**

 **Thanks to Emily and Dina!**

 **8,162 words**

* * *

Written for:

Muggle Studies \- Task 1: Write about someone marrying the widow/ex of a family member./ Task 6:Write about someone who becomes a mother, or father figure to their partner's child(ren)

Pokemon Go Word count challenge

Writing Month - August Word count challenge

Cinema Challenge \- "Boy...that escalated quickly."

Emotion Challenge \- Disheartened

Hogwarts Monopoly \- Your Charms Card is: "You're Getting Hitched!" Task: Write a story about character(s) getting married.

Uneven Bars:

Jump with bent hips to handstand, half turn - (object) a music clock

Clear hip circle with full turn - (action) singing

Backward giant - (action) kiss

Piked stalder with half turn to regular grip - (action) using a Muggle device

Straddled Tatchev with half turn [Kononeko] - (word) moon

[Tweddle] - (word) whimsical

Swing backwards to half turning flight to low bar [Ezhova] - (dialogue) "I'm looking for a place, mine blew up."

Toe-on circle with full turn in flight to high bar [Seitz] - (dialogue) "Well, this is a nice change of scenery." / "It's a prison cell." / "I was being sarcastic."

On high bar, salto backwards tucked - (scenario) Making a huge effort in hiding a secret

POKEMON trading cards - (Bronze): Skiddo Task: Write about someone sensing that another character is feeling down or low.

Chocolate Frog card - (Silver) Artemisia Lufkin - Challenge: Write a genderbent story where a traditionally male character is female.


	9. Stable BoyChampion Remus

**Written for:**

 **Olympics - Gymnastics. Balance Beam Final**

(object) a crown

(dialogue) "I don't know… she's got balls!"

(dialogue) "He finally fell asleep."

(dialogue) "I'm sorry, I'm in a rush!"

(word) destiny

(word) castle

(word) truth

(location) Malfoy Manor (though this is what I imagine to be Lucius' castle…)

(scenario) finding out you're pregnant

 **Lucky Duck Challenge** \- 30. Round

 **Hogwarts - Myths and Legends Assignment 4 -** **Task:** For your task I would like you to write about a Damsel in Distress. The Damsel can be male, but the storyline should be the same: a character has discovered that a damsel is in distress, and they head out to rescue them.

 **Hamilton Challenge: [2]** [scenario] Write about people meeting for the first time.. [character] Marauders, or just Sirius.

 **Just Another Trope Challenge...** Hero's First Rescue

 **Bad Movie Tuesdays** \- North [object] coin

* * *

Princesses and Stable Boys

* * *

There was a big fuss throughout the kingdom, though Remus didn't know all of the details. All the rumours had in common was that Lord Malfoy was looking for a Champion, and that all the knights were to compete.

Remus wasn't a knight, in fact, he was as far from being a knight as possible, unless knights cleaned up horse manure and mucked out stables. Remus doubted they did, but he knew he was as good as any of those knights.

All the knights wanted to do was sit around and eat meals at the long tables in Lord Malfoy's castle, allowing themselves to get too fat to really do anything. Remus doubted that they could even remember how to get on a horse.

But when the day came, attendance to the tournament was mandatory, so Remus had to turn up for work early, and stop working to head to the seats. He wasn't pleased. This meant that he'd be wasting hours of his day, which would mean that he'd be working until very late.

...oOo...

Three knights had left and not returned, with one returning in a horrifying state. Remus could see that the remaining knights didn't want to move from their overly-comfortable seats. The Lord turned to the people in the seats, looking around.

"I am accepting brave men to volunteer," the Lord said, looking around. No-one said a word, and it was so quiet, Remus expected to see a tumbleweed make its way across the ground. It would have made a much more pleasing sight than the pompous Lord Malfoy,

"Perhaps we should be concerned about losing our knights," Sir Snape offered, finally standing. "You may take my stable-boy—Heaven knows he needs to make himself more useful. If he fails, we can find others to replace him. Stable-boys are easily replaceable."

"You make an excellent point, Severus," Lord Malfoy replied. "Stable-boy. Come down here at once."

Remus watched the proceedings in horror, until the guards came and escorted him down. He was pushed in front of the Lord, who looked him over.

Though he seemed mildly displeased by Remus' appearance, he turned to the people, announced Remus as the new champion, and dismissed everyone.

"Your task is to rescue a princess. There is a dragon to pass, but once you bring the princess back, you'll be rewarded."

"What is the reward?"

"A hundred gold pieces."

Remus snorted. "Your knights get more than that and they aren't doing anything at all," he replied. "They have land and large homes, and a hundred gold pieces is like pittance to them. You've lost three knights already, so you would easily be able to afford to give me what you give to them."

"You want to be a knight?" Lucius snorted, a sneer on his face.

"Well, if I do rescue the princess, surely I'd prove that I'm more skilled than your knights?" Remus pointed out. "None of them have faced a dragon before. If I do this, I'll be the most skilled man in the Kingdom."

Lucius Malfoy stared at him for a long moment before nodding. "I will have a horse and supplies ready in the morning, and you can look through the armoury and choose a weapon. If you succeed, you will become a knight with all the perks."

"And if I don't, I want my parents to get that one-hundred coins, because they'll need it without my pay for working in the stables."

Lucius narrowed his eyes. "They will be paid in the morning," he agreed after a long moment contemplating. "If the princess is harmed, however, I will set your parents hovel on fire with them in it."

"Of course, Lord Malfoy. They live by the southern border," Remus replied softly. "I would like to take a horse tonight, if I may. I will get home faster, and have more time to rest before my quest tomorrow."

After Lucius gave him permission, Remus bowed slightly, before heading to the stables. He picked a fussy-black horse he had named Snuffles, and headed North to his parents' farm.

...oOo...

It wasn't that long of a journey; it was clear that Lucius Malfoy and the Knights were lazy. Remus had a plan, set out by his father.

Usually knights just rushed into things, swords waving around like lunatics. Slowly and calmly was the way to go.

Which worked until Remus stood face to face with the dragon itself.

The dragon watched him carefully, and Remus was just glad that it hadn't set him on fire.

"I've been told to guard this princess. I was told to kill any Lord, Knight, Prince or King that sets foot here."

"Oh. I'm none of those things. I'm actually a stable-boy," Remus mentioned.

The dragon stared a bit more. "I don't have orders to kill stable-boys," it replied uncertainly.

"That's great news. I bet you're full. Three and a half knights make for good eating. Am I right?"

"All the metal gave me a stomach ache," the dragon complained with a sigh. Remus dodged the slight spark that fell from the dragon's mouth. "But they just keep coming back."

"Oh, it's not their fault," Remus said, with a shrug. "Lord Malfoy of Slytherin keeps sending them.

"Of Slytherin, you say?" the dragon replied, turning his gaze to the distant town. "And why is that?"

"He wants the princess but he's pretty lazy," Remus informed him. "I'm here to get the princess too, but I don't really want to get burned or eaten."

The dragon turned yellow eyes back to Remus. "For the information you've provided me, I'll let you live. The princess has been nothing but trouble. You're welcome to take the princess away as long as I can get some solitude."

"Sure," Remus agreed. "Thanks, Dragon." He walked away, looking for the tall tower. He found it quickly, walking around the round tower until he spotted the window.

He noticed a figuring moving around in the window, and he stepped back, trying to get a better view.

"Hey, excuse me… can you hear me?"

A man appeared. "Hey, how's it going?"

Remus was taken aback. He expected a beautiful princess, but this was clearly a bloke. "Eerr... aren't you supposed to be a Princess?"

"I am," the man replied, pointing to the crown on his head. "Crown. Princess. Look, if you're not going to rescue me, can you just move along. I'm too busy for time-wasters. That's all that I find here. People who want to preach the good word, princes who don't think I'm a princess and people who want to sell me double-glazing. I had a bloke that wanted me to buy seeds the other day. I mean, I'm locked in a tower! What would I need seeds for?"

Remus shrugged. "Well, why don't you come down?"

"The rules are that I'm supposed to be rescued," the man said. "So… are you going to rescue me or not?"

Remus nodded. He was going to bring back the princess and get his reward, even if the princess was a bloke. "Do you have a key?"

"Yeah. You can come up and sweep me off my feet and we ride away into the sunset together."

"It opens from that side?" Remus checked.

The princess nodded. "Of course."

"But… you could have just opened the door and left."

"Mother said that the rules are that I stay in here and never leave. Where would I go? My hair is too long, and it's knotted around the furniture, so I'm not able to really do much."

Remus cringed. "Okay, how do I get up to you?"

"The door is unlocked."

Remus just stared up at the princess for a long moment. Finally he walked around, reaching for the door.

It was unlocked.

...oOo...

The moment he entered the tower, the man was in his arms. "You rescued me," he cried, dramatically. "We shall be wed in the morning."

"Oh. Actually, Lord Malfoy sent me to rescue—"

"And it will be a grand event with food and wine… and—

"—you. I'm not your—"

"—lots of chocolate!" Sirius finished.

—future husband. Wait. Did you say lots of chocolate?" Remus considered it for a moment. "How much chocolate?"

"Tons. I'm actually the Princess of Slytherin, so…"

"Oh, that's why he sent me. If he marries you, he'll be king!"

"If who marries me, my love? My heart belongs to you. It was you who faced the mighty dragon, who broke into my tower and swept me off my feet!"

Remus wondered how long the man had been alone.

"Right, but I'm supposed to bring you to him."

"Or we could just head to Gryffindor. My bestie is the Prince there. He'll hook us up. Nice house, musician to play music whenever we want." Sirius watched him carefully. "All the chocolate we can eat!"

"But what about my parents?" Remus asked, finding the offer tempting.

"Your parents! I didn't even think about them. Will they like me?" The man fluttered his eyelashes.

"We'll see," Remus muttered.

"And what is the name of my brave and gallant love?"

"Me? I'm Remus."

"Remus. Now I know what name to shout when you take me!" The man moved back to the bed, his hand resting on his forehead as he lay back.

"Okay, so… my horse is waiting. Shall we go? I'm sorry, I'm in a rush!"

Sirius sat up quickly. "Of course. We shouldn't give into our lust, no matter how much we want it. We should wait until our wedding night."

Remus watched as Sirius approached him again, feeling more scared of the man than he had of the dragon. "I did mention that I'm kind of stuck here, right? My hair… I wasn't allowed to cut it."

Remus glanced around, noticing the long black hair that was caught around the beams, knotted and tangled badly. "Oh. I have this sword. Should I just cut it."

"Whatever my love desires!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus grabbed the hair at the back of the Princesses neck, holding it together. He put the sword underneath his hand and began to carefully cut through the hair.

...oOo...

Remus stopped at his parents' farm, tired from the journey. Sirius had insisted on stopping countless times. Remus had planned to bring him straight to the castle, but he was tired, and Sirius was complaining and pouting more than any of the girls in town.

"Mother?" he called, knocking on the door. It was a minute before he heard the locks draw back.

"Remus? You're alive!"

"I am."

"My future mother-in-law. Can I call you that? Mother?" Hope was shocked when Sirius grabbed her, hugging her tightly.

"Remus? Would you like to make your… uh, a cup of tea?" Hope asked, moving aside as Sirius let go of her.

"Sure," Remus said. He headed to the kitchen, and Sirius followed, taking a seat at the dining table.

"So, before you call me Mother, should we do introductions?" Hope offered, smiling warmly at Sirius. "I'm Remus' mother, Hope Lupin."

"I am princess Sirius of Slytherin," Sirius stated proudly.

Hope looked at Remus who nodded.

"And you want to call me Mother?" she asked kindly, but clearly confused.

"Of course. When me and Remus are married, you will be my mother!" Sirius informed her.

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. Have you any plans for the wedding? I have some suggestions from my own, though it was many years ago, dear."

"I would love to hear them," Sirius replied. "You could help me with my wedding dress."

Remus turned and opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn't find the right words. He watched the pair for a moment, feeling it was safer to stay quiet and not draw attention to himself as he made the tea.

It didn't work. Once he set the cups down, Sirius' adoring gaze found him, and Remus blushed.

"Look, Lord Lucius sent me to bring you to him. I'll bring you to the castle in the morning, even if you just want to tell him that you don't want to marry him."

"So I must refuse him before you'll marry me and make me your queen?"

Hope sighed contentedly. "This wedding will be beautiful."

"Which way to our bed, my love?" Sirius asked.

"I can take the floor, and—"

"Don't worry. I'm sure your mother won't talk if we"—Sirius lowered his voice—"share a bed."

Remus shivered slightly at the tone of voice before turning to his mother, expecting her to tell Sirius that it wasn't proper for a 'princess' to share a bed. She just nodded.

"Good-night. I'll have some more ideas for the wedding in the morning. Did you say it will be held in Gryffindor?"

"It will. My friend, Prince James… he'll give us land, titles. Anything we need."

"Gryffindor is a wonderful land, I had always hoped to move there one day," Hope whispered.

"Of course. I would not take your son with me and leave you behind. You and Remus' father, you're my family now!"

Remus watched in disbelief as the pair hugged, before Sirius dragged him towards the bedrooms, pushing open doors until he found Remus' room.

...oOo...

Remus walked into the room after getting changed, his eyes falling on Sirius, asleep on top of the covers in the bed. Now that he wasn't rushing around, or talking, Remus had a nice quiet moment to admire him.

His gaze slowly moved over the high, aristocratic cheekbones, before moving down to the full lips. How had he not noticed before how beautiful the man was?

Remus looked at the tiny space on the floor, before looking at the bed. He lay down carefully, his back to the princess as he tried to keep as close to the edge as possible.

When Remus woke up hours later, however, his whole body was tangled with Sirius'. He was frozen for a moment, his face inches from Sirius' as the princess's eyes fluttered lightly, before opening.

Sirius looked shocked for a moment, before his eyes filled with desire. "Do you want to take me now?" he whispered seductively. Remus stared into his perfect grey eyes, forcing himself not to nod his head.

Sirius took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Can I at least kiss my hero before he brings me to this Lord?" came a whisper.

Remus hesitated for a moment. Sirius was asking for just one kiss. Surely he could grant the princess that at least? After all, he was agreeing to meet with Lucius Malfoy, and once he did, Lucius Malfoy would win his heart with his handsome looks and wonderful blond locks.

"Yes."

Remus wasn't prepared for Sirius to use their tangled limbs to his advantage. With a slight pull of Sirius' leg, Remus found the man straddling him. Before Remus could say a word, Sirius' lips were on his.

The kiss was slow, lazy. Just lips caressing each other. Remus knew he should have pulled away after a moment, but his hands pulled Sirius closer, rather than moving the other man away. Fingers tangled in dark hair, and somehow Remus flipped them over, his body towering over Sirius.

He couldn't stop himself. He leant down once more, letting their lips meet. Sirius' lips parted, and Remus' tongue explored. They didn't hear the knock on the door as the kiss got even more heated, Sirius grabbing Remus' hips as his own bucked up, desperately seeking friction.

The same friction that Remus so desperately wanted to feel himself. His lips worked their way down Sirius' neck as they both sought out their pleasure.

"You're not going to ask me to leave again, are you?" Sirius whispered, sounding scared and uncertain for the first time since their initial meeting. "I want to stay with you."

Remus didn't answer. He was torn. He had made a promise to the Lord, but… he couldn't force Sirius to go to Lucius. He could hear the truth in Sirius' voice at the words.

And the thought of Lucius being intimate in any way with Sirius made his blood boil. He held Sirius tightly, listening to the other man sigh contentedly. Sirius was his, and Remus wasn't giving him up.

Destiny was a strange thing, but it had brought Remus and Sirius together.

...oOo...

Remus made tea the next morning, finding only his father in the kitchen. "Your mother said you had returned. So… you brought your princess back? What is she like?"

Remus slowly shook his head. "I don't know… she's got balls!"

"She's feisty?" John asked, chuckling.

"No, I mean… Princess Sirius is male."

"But your mother was planning the wedding."

"Oh, there still may be a wedding," Remus murmured, blushing slightly.

"So, do I get to meet my future son-in-law anytime soon?" John asked, recovering quickly.

"He finally fell asleep," Remus stated, trying not to smile as he recalled the events throughout the night and that morning. "I'm sure he'll wake up soon though."

...oOo...

Remus didn't mention Sirius visiting Lucius. Instead, he loaded up the horse, taking Sirius in the opposite direction: to Gryffindor.

He wanted to make sure that it was safe for his parents to move there. As Sirius cuddled against him on the back of the horse whilst whispering wedding plans into his ear, Remus couldn't help but smile.

By the time Lucius sent another knight to the tower, they would all be long gone, starting their new lives in Gryffindor.

His parents were selling the farm and following them, and then… well, then Remus would become a married man.

"Do you think we'll make it until our wedding night?" Sirius murmured into his ear. Remus' breath caught in his throat as he felt something against his back.

"Keep that up, and we won't make it the whole journey," he replied.

Sirius bit his lip. "About last night," he murmured. "I think… I'm with child."

Remus had to stop himself from crashing the horse.

* * *

Thanks to Dina, Lizzy and Shannon for the help! :)


	10. Prime-Minister Remus

**Written for:**

Out of this World Challenge

Saturn - Alien!AU, Word: Oxygen, Dialogue: "Are you an alien? Because your arse is out of this world."

Pinata

Space

Jenga

Arranged Marriage

* * *

 **Uniting the Planets**

Prime Minister!Remus

* * *

Remus' hands shook as he moved through the street, through the crowds of people who were gathering. News about the alien landing had leaked and spread as Remus had suspected it would. He had requested to the army to set up barricades to keep people back. The people's safety was one of the top priorities.

There were cheers as he walked through the street and even the odd shout about how sexy he was looking in his cardigan, which caused Remus to blush. Though he _knew_ he should be all formal and stuff for the meeting, he couldn't bring himself to wear a suit. He hadn't been elected as Prime Minister because of his ability to look good in a suit.

No, he had been elected because he had been the voice of the people in the matter of the aliens visiting. He had taken a stand, just an ordinary guy from Wales, against what the government had wanted to do about the ships that had appeared in the sky. Earth wanted to fight. Remus wanted to see what they wanted. After all, the ships were there, waiting.

They weren't attacking and Remus reasoned that Earth shouldn't either. Clearly this proved there was life out there and what kind of message was Earth sending out by attacking someone who possibly wanted to make friends?

Other countries quickly followed Remus' words and _somehow_ he found himself in charge of the United Kingdom. Somehow he was in charge of welcoming the visitors and he was utterly terrified.

His first action was to pay farm-hands to take over his parents' farm and get his parents brought up to help him because they would advise him for the best.

Remus reached the end of the street and he glanced at the park. "It's empty?" he checked with Alastair Moody, the Army General.

Moody nodded his head. "I sent the boys in two hours ago to scour every bit of the park. Every hiding place, every bush. They checked in the trees and everything. Everyone hiding has been given a warning.

Remus nodded his head nervously. "Okay," he murmured. "You let me know if anything changes. The ship looks like it's lowered since I arrived. I think it's time."

"Permission to shoot on my orders?"

"No. Only if I come to harm," Remus said. "We don't know how they do things, Moody."

The man nodded, not looking pleased with Remus' answer. "I've some guards who are going in with you. Believe that aliens come in peace. Not so sure myself about that myself though."

Remus merely nodded. He followed Moody as the man led the way to the only entrance of the park that hadn't been blocked off by the army. He ignored the cameras that were snapping picture after picture and avoided the eyes of the reporters.

"We have a cameraman coming in already," he said, looking around at all of them. "Anyone who even attempts to enter will be arrested and taken away from here. This is for your own safety."

"Can we get interviews with the beings?" one reporter demanded.

"You're thinking too far ahead. That's not my choice but they are visitors here and should be treated with respect. Not hounded like… like Beyonce."

A couple of the reporters laughed and Remus smiled.

"Can we get one with you quickly?" someone asked.

"No," Remus replied apologetically. "I'm sorry but I don't want to keep them waiting any longer. This is an important moment and interviews and statements can wait until afterwards."

He turned away and entered the park, a small group of the army following him.

...oOo…

The ship was a shimmering silver and it wasn't because the sun was shining on it. In fact, it seemed to be some metal the likes of which Remus had never seen before. It was beautiful and he stared at it in awe, hoping that only good would come from the meeting.

He stood a safe distance from the first spaceship and watched it as it landed. He could hear the murmurs from the men standing behind him. They seemed as nervous as him.

It wasn't long before the doors opened.

Remus took a step forward, insisting that the army give him a bit of space and he stared at the darkness coming from inside of the doorway.

A minute later, a man stepped out. Well, Remus could only describe him as such. The alien looked like an ordinary man, though he was extraordinarily handsome. Remus tried not to stare. There were cameras after all and it wouldn't do to stare at a visitor.

Six guards followed the visitor out. Remus noted that it was the same amount he had brought with him. He decided that the visitor was trying to show that he meant no harm, he just wanted to defend himself should things be hostile.

"Welcome to our planet," Remus said as the 'man' moved closer, stopping a short distance away. "I'm the Prime Minister, Remus Lupin."

"You are the ambassador that the Earth chose?" the man asked, his voice smooth and sensual, making Remus shiver.

"I am. I'm the one that first received your message and insisted that we meet with you and ensure you come in peace. Do you?"

"We do." The man grinned. "I am the ambassador for a planet far away. Our home was about to be destroyed so we all left. Yours is the one with the same atmosphere and to our knowledge, the only one we can survive on. We have the same oxygen as you do. We come in peace, hoping that you'll allow us sanctuary on your planet."

"We can discuss it, but I don't see a problem with that," Remus said, relieved at the information. He was right about other life in the universe that were friendly.

"I understand that your people would need a show of peace," the visitor murmured, his eyes fixed intently on Remus in a way that made Remus struggle to breath. The last time someone looked at him even a little bit like that, he ended up naked in their bed. "It was agreed once boarding our ship, and once reading your world's history that kingdoms could be united by a marriage. I hereby offer myself to you for this… marriage."

"I'm sorry. What?" Remus blurted out. He had been staring and it was possible he had somehow misheard what had been said. Did he just get proposed to by an alien.

"Yes. I have researched your human customs and they sound quite enjoyable. Especially the consummation of—"

"You can't say that!" Remus hissed. "Children are watching this… this report. That is not something you discuss in front of children."

"Oh." The man stopped, considering the words. "My apologies. I planned to be vague, hence my use of the 'c' word. Perhaps we can discuss it later in a more private setting? Just me and you of course. My name is Sirius Black."

"You're here just looking for a new life? Can you ensure us that we'll be safe?" Remus asked, hoping to turn the subject away from marriage and consummating the marriage and being naked with the gorgeous being in front of him. Well, the last one was only a thought that was in his mind, but it was very distracting.

"You will be. We wish to integrate into your society. Aside from the marriage and… additional requirements, we can offer our scientific knowledge and technology. We have brought as many supplies from our homeland as it was possible to do, including materials, seeds and so forth. When will our wedding be? I have seen pictures and I am quite looking forward to it."

"I... " Remus was at a complete loss. This was not what he was expecting at all. "We are happy to welcome you to Earth," he said, his voice shaking slightly and his eyes wide. "We thank you for your gifts too. Your people are welcome to land here as we have the army keeping civilians out. I assure you that it will be quite safe for your people also if you wish to have your other ships land today."

Sirius shook his head. "I'm sorry, but my people need to be sure that they can trust this world before they come." He gestured to two of his guards. "This is my second in command, James. If you would prefer, he will marry you."

"Hey, wait," Remus started.

"Ah. Perhaps the gender is wrong?" Sirius frowned. "Andromeda."

A woman stepped forward. "You will be wed immediately so we can—"

"It's not the gender, that's not a problem," Remus said over Sirius' words. "The marriage custom is from a long time ago."

Sirius stared at him curiously.

"These days, we date. We go out to dinner and…" as the words came out of his mouth, Remus knew that there was not really an option. There was a whole race of people who had to run from their homes, packing everything. These people were probably terrified, hoping that Earth would show them that they were welcoming.

"You don't have tentacles or anything, do you?" Remus whispered.

One of the guards behind him started laughing and Remus couldn't help but laugh himself.

"No. We are very similar to you I believe. I have done my research through your internet prawns."

"Prawns?" Remus repeated.

"I think he means porn," a guard offered.

"Let's keep this conversation suitable for children," Remus replied softly, turning around. "Very well, Mr. Black. "My men are setting up an office nearby as we speak, in the grounds. We will have an official meeting in there and discuss the terms of this arrangement."

Sirius grinned. "I would be the best match. I am the leader of my people and would be honoured to be your bonded…"

"Husband," James murmured from behind him.

"Yes. I will be your husband. James and Andromeda will not please you as well as I intend to." He turned back to his guards. "Back off, James, Andromeda. He's going to marry _me_! He's gorgeous. If I had known how Earthlings looked, I'd have been over years ago!"

Remus gaped at Sirius as he turned back and walked over to Remus, closing the small distance that was between them. James quickly followed and one of Remus' guards—Frank—moved forward, stopping at his side.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Are you an alien Because your arse is out of this world."

Remus couldn't help but burst out laughing. Sirius watched him, laughing at Remus' reaction and soon the guards were all laughing too, the tension of the situation quickly disappearing.

Sirius shifted slightly closer and Frank froze up, watching carefully.

"It's okay, Frank," Remus murmured. "I trust him."

Sirius' smile widened even more. "So, that means you're my finance?"

"Finance," Remus muttered.

"Yeah." Before Remus knew what was happening, Sirius' lips were on his and arms had snaked around his waist, holding him close. Remus couldn't help himself. His fingers found their way into Sirius' hair.

When Sirius pulled back, Remus had to take a moment to get his bearings. "Wow," he whispered. "Yeah, I think… I… uniting our people might be the right way to go after all."

"Well, let's have this meeting first. Here. On my planet, a custom is that you must hold my hand all of the time until we are bonded."

"Bonded? Is that like marriage?" Remus asked, allowing Sirius to take his hand and wondering what the hell his parents were making of the whole situation. No doubt they were watching the coverage.

Sirius smirked. "You'll find out soon enough. Come on, Love. Time for us to meet privately."

* * *

1953 words


End file.
